tHirTeEn
by twolipps
Summary: In the aftermath of war, the Volturi have given Bella a choice-live as a vampire among the Guard, or die. What will she choose and will Jasper be willing to train her as a newborn and then give her up at the end of 13 short months? Vamp/Human OOC
1. Chapter 1

**Thirteen**

**Chapter 1**

**Thanks for visiting my new story. This is mt first attempt at writing a vamp/human fic, so please be kind.**

**A great big thank you to my wonderful supa dupa betas, JamesRamsey and Cullen818, who have graciously agreed to go on this journey with me. I know that I will probably ask you two a million questions and submitt a gazillion re-writes before it's all said and done, so I am thanking you guys in advance!**

**SM owns it!**

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**JPOV**

Whoever said that they loved the smell of napalm in the morning, was one fucked up motherfucker. If I were still human I would be retching by now. I could have chosen to stop breathing; it wasn't like the oxygen inflating my dead lungs served the purpose of sustaining my life anyway, but breathing in the stench was a reminder to me of who I was and how far I had come. And actually, the reason for the napalm smell was because we had been fighting for what _did_ sustain our life.

Blood.

Red gold, as some of our kind like to call it.

We had been fighting over territorial rights. It was the same song and dance that I had been hearing about and participating in since the beginning of my non-life nearly a hundred and fifty years ago. It was the reason I was created, and to tell the truth, I was sick to death of it all. I surveyed the flat plain basin of the meadow, ashamed of what I had done and yet thankful that I was able do it, because it meant that we were still alive.

Dead vampire bodies and parts thereof, littered the landscape. Purple plumes of napalm smelling smoke wafted through the air as my adopted mother and sister tended to the funeral pyre, stoking the flames as they added the remains of the fallen.

At my instruction, they purposely fanned the flames-three giant smoke clouds at sixty second intervals-to send out the message: the war was over and we had won. Any half way intelligent undead being would see and smell the smoke, and know to stay the hell out of our reclaimed territory.

My family and I live in the Pacific Northwest in a little town called Forks, Washington. We had all lived in many places before throughout our long lives, but no other place felt like home quite like Forks did. I didn't know what the attraction to the town was, there wasn't shit here, but we loved it like it was fucking Shangri-La or something. And truthfully, it really was our own piece of paradise.

We lived on the edge of the millions of acres of forest that nurtured our food supply. Yes, we were vampires, but no, we did not feed from humans. The patriarch of my adopted family—I didn't like the term coven because we weren't witches, we were fucking vampires—had never been privy to the taste of human blood. I had never heard of a moral vampire until the day that I met him, but Carlisle Cullen was the epitome of goodness and civility.

To him, taking a life to nourish your own was wrong, and simply put, he just didn't get down like that. His wife and mate, Esme, was of the same viewpoint, and so as they lived their lives moving from place to place they assembled a hodgepodge of vampires to call their family, feeding on animals and living inconspicuously among humans.

A female vampire from Seattle with demon blood hair named Victoria believed that it was unnatural for us to live the way we did. She believed that nutrients in animal blood would not be sufficient for us to live off of indefinitely, and that it would be only a matter of time before our natural inclinations took over and demanded that we feed from our indigenous food supply, humans.

Because our family was so large, she felt that our sheer number alone—and my extensive battle knowledge-would be a force to be reckoned with, and that we would drive her out of what she felt was her feeding territory, the greater Seattle area.

Of course, that was the farthest thing from the truth, but there had been no reasoning with her when we had gone to her with an extended olive branch of peace. In response to her own fears, she raised an army of 30 unruly newborn vampires and started planning her attack.

"What now Major?" Peter asked.

There were seven of us that claimed Forks as our home. While Peter and his mate, Charlotte, did not technically live in Forks, they visited often enough to be considered a part of our family, and so they had their own bedroom suite in one wing of our house.

For a lack of a better term, Peter and I 'grew up' together. He was created to assist me in the training of the newborns and was more of a brother to me than my own flesh and blood brother had been.

I stopped my prowling of the meadow and faced my friend, brother and comrade. After a battle it was normal for me to walk the field to clear my senses and to tamp down my inner demon. Peter knew this, and waited eagerly, albeit submissively, to give me a moment to find my normal voice.

"Standard operating procedures Peter. You, Edward and Emmett run a twenty mile zig-zag perimeter check. If there's anything out there larger than a red fox I wanna know about it."

"I think we're finished burning all of the parts," Alice said, lacing her fingers through my own.

With a jerk, I pulled my hand out of hers and ignored the hurt expression on her face. I had learned over the years to dodge the wave of sorrow that hit me every time I rebuffed her advances. Our relationship was complicated—well, I take that back, I had been very clear on where I stood with her, but since _she_ was the one that chose to ignore it, then _she_ was the one who could deal with all of the emotions.

I nodded. "Double check, will ya? The last thing we need is a twitching finger or toe left out here for some poor unsuspecting hiker to find."

She quickly ran off to carry out her duties, eager to please me like a little obedient puppy.

"She's not handling you new relationship status well," Peter said.

"It's not my fault that she can't seem to let go," I said, picking up a chuck of vampire flesh. I turned and with deadly accuracy, threw it across the field to the funeral pyre. The venom hissed and the flesh dissipated into a small plum of purple smoke. "Besides, we broke up ten years ago, so this is not new to her."

"Ten years, ten minutes. It's all the same to us vampires. And when you're still fucking your ex-wife, it tends to complicate things."

"Yeah well, whatever…" I said, not wanting to hear the scolding that usually followed this conversation. A vamp had needs, didn't he? I couldn't help if Alice was more than willing to take care of those needs.

Sam, in human form, strode across the meadow towards me. "If we're finished here, I'm sending Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry and four others back to the Rez through the south, to run our own perimeter checks. Jacob and I will take the northwest route over the mountains to make sure that none of your fellow _leeches_ are hiding out. We'll let you know if we see anything."

Even with our newfound peace alliance, old habits were hard to break. The wolves still called us leeches and we still called them mutts. Neither side took offence; this is just how it was.

Carlisle knew that not only would a full scale vampire war draw unwanted attention to our kind, but possibly obliterate us as a family. Even with all of my military training we were outnumbered.

And so, Carlisle called the Volturi for assistance. What he didn't know, but had suspected all along, was that the Volturi were suspicious of our family as well. They felt that we blended in with humans too much, and the fact that we didn't feed from our natural food source meant that we had too much self control. _Was there even such a thing as too much self control?_

Apparently to them, too much self control meant that it would be harder for them to manipulate us into doing what they wanted should the need arise.

So when it came down to it, we laid out a plan to fight back. From Alice's visions we knew when the attack was going to happen and that it would be impossible for us to come out alive, but we were determined to not go down without a fight. And then a few days before the attack, salvation came from an unlikely source, Jacob Black.

In our latest jaunt through high school, we had met Jacob and his pack of werewolf friends. Under the best of circumstances we hated each other, but what can you expect from natural enemies?

We were out running patrols one night when Emmett caught the scent of an unknown vampire. He chased the vamp along the treaty line, careful to stay on our side but somehow inadvertently crossed over into Quileute territory and was immediately set upon by one of the wolves.

We hastily explained what we had been doing, and thankfully Jacob had caught scent of the same vamp a few days prior and could verify our story. After telling him about the impending war, and pointing out that a pack of untrained blood crazed newborns descending upon our small sleepy town wouldn't be in the best interest for those who were not immortal, agreed to broach the subject before his Alpha, Sam, and the tribe council.

They agreed to help, sending ten wolves to add to our numbers, and temporarily relaxed the treaty lines in order to train and sort out the logistics of our battle plans. Nineteen of us against thirty-one rouge vampires, and we had come out victorious despite the fact that the Volturi had ignored our pleas for help.

"Sam," Carlisle said, extending his hand. "We can't thank you and your Pack enough. If you hadn't agreed to help us…well, my family and I are truly grateful."

Sam accepted Carlisle's hand in a hearty shake. "I use to think it impossible for our kind to ever see eye-to-eye on anything Carlisle, but I'm glad that I was wrong. I want you to know that I'm planning to speak at the next Tribal Council, and urge them to permanently relax the Treaty Lines."

"That would be wonderful Sam. I would love to be able to share a meal with you, Harry and Billy one day, metaphorically speaking of course," he quickly added.

"I will keep you posted on the outcome."

The two men shook hands once more before Sam and Jacob departed, jogging in human form to the tree line and then disappearing in a fur explosion.

I turned to face my father. "Will you inform the Volturi of how we fared today?"

He nodded, his silver blond hair shining in the dim evening light. "Yes, out of respect for their leadership, I will let them know. I will however, leave out the wolves involvement. It would not be fair to them to expose their secrets."

"Carlisle! Jasper!"

I felt the fear and confusion before I could see the source. It was coming from just beyond the crown canopy of the tree line. My senses told me that there was nothing to fear, but after just being involved in a fight for my life and those of my family, I instinctually reacted.

My demon broke free of its internal confines and roared, loud and long, before charging.

"Stop him, they're human!"

Jasper heard his adoptive mother's scream, but the demon did not. I felt multiple arms encircling my waist and the demon mentally fought with Jasper over control of our body. I distantly heard Carlisle's healing bedside voice in my ear.

"Concentrate, Jasper. Listen to my voice. There is no threat here. Cage the demon Jasper; I know that you can do it. Please son." He turned and spoke over his shoulder. "Restrain them, but keep them away from him!"

I could feel the venom pooling in my mouth and running down my chin as I thrashed about, fighting whoever it was that was holding me down. I didn't know how long Carlisle continued his mantra of pleading with me, but it seemed to work, and eventually I could feel Jasper coming back in control.

I felt weak and my throat burned; I needed to feed, and soon.

When I picked myself up, I saw that there were three of them, two females and a male, sitting on the ground, huddled together and clutching each other in fear. Esme and Char were standing guard over them, and turned in a protective stance as I approached.

I held up my hands, palms out, in a show of peace. Three sweaty humans would not normally seem like a feast, but we were not in a normal situation. I could feel my blood lust spike as I neared them, and took a couple of steps backward for their safety.

I hadn't had a slip up in decades, and I didn't want to ruin all of my hard work with these three trivial humans.

"What's going on here?" I asked my mother and sisters.

"I found them just beyond the tree line there as I was looking for the remaining pieces," Alice explained, pointing toward the trees.

"State your purpose for being here." I told them.

Neither of them spoke, just looked at me with wide, rapidly blinking eyes. I heard their heartbeats flutter in fear.

Carlisle stepped forward. "We won't hurt you, but you must tell us why you are here."

Silence.

"Can any of you speak?" I asked impatiently.

My voice must have come out a bit harsher than I intended because the smell of urine floated through the air. Rose stepped forward and laid a hand on my arm, restraining me.

"Jasper, patience," she reminded me.

That was funny coming from Rose, she hated most humans.

"I…we…please…." The male stuttered.

The female with dark chocolate hair and enormous eyes of the same color spoke up next. "W-we were o-out on a s-science e-expedition. W-we didn't see anything," she added quickly.

It had been my experience that anytime someone said that they didn't see anything, it really meant that they saw everything. I started to respond to her when the wind shifted, and I was suddenly hit with the most tantalizing scent that I had ever smelled.

In the nanosecond it took for her scent to hit me, I felt myself being tackled to the ground for the second time, and then being dragged, kicking and roaring like a caged beast, through the woods.

"What the fuck are you doing Edward?"

"You have to feed!"

"Get the fuck off of me and stay out of my head!"

"You don't have to be a mind reader to feel the blood lust you were throwing off," Emmett said. "You'll regret it if you slaughter them."

"I need to find out who they are," I said, still struggling in the hold that Peter had on me.

"Well you can't very well do that if you drain them dry first. Now drink!" Peter shoved me down in front of a deer that Emmett was holding captive.

My feeding instincts took over and I fell upon the animal, draining it dry within seconds. It took two more large animals, another deer and a moose—nasty stuff that is—to satiate me. When done, I sat back on my haunches and looked at my brothers.

"What I want to know is why didn't we hear them?" I demanded. I turned to Edward, he should have at least been able to hear their thoughts. "Edward?"

He shrugged. "I don't know Jasper, I didn't hear a thing."

"None of us smelled them either," Emmett pointed out. "Not even the wolves."

"This is fucking ridiculous, we're vampires! I didn't even _feel_ them until Alice alerted us to them. How do three humans get this close to a forest full of vampires and none of us know it?"

"I hate to point this out, but none of the newborns saw them either, or else they wouldn't be sitting out there scared to death and pissing themselves," Peter said. "I think we need to ask the brown headed one though."

"Why? Do you know something about her?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I think she's the one that's the least scared of us."

"They know who we are then?" Emmett asked. I knew he was weighing the options, considering the steps we needed to take if our secret had been exposed. Out of all of us, Emmett and Rose loved Forks the most; I knew how disappointed Rose would be to have to leave.

"I don't think so, but I know _she's _starting to figure it out," Peter said.

"What do we do then?" Edward asked.

We were in an unusual predicament. Out of nine vampires, four of us had extra talents, all of which seemed to be on the fritz. We were literally flying blind and I did not like it. These humans posed more of a threat to us than they knew.

"Let's just talk to them first," I said, moving toward the clearing. "We won't know what to do until we find out what they know anyway."

When we emerged from the thicket of trees and bushes I saw Esme kneeling beside our group of enemies—yes, humans and their closed minded nature were our enemy-motherly compassion pouring off of her. She was passing a canteen of their water back and forth between them, and whispering to them that everything would be okay.

"Jasper, what are you thinking?" Carlisle asked me.

I felt myself slipping back into Major mode, and _Sun Tzu's_ words ran through my mind, _'If your opponent is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them'._ We needed to separate them and weaken their defenses in order to get answers out of them.

"Divide and conquer," I said, striding forth.

After vampiricly speaking to Esme, she moved away from them, pleading with me to not hurt them. It wasn't my intention to hurt innocent humans, if they were in fact innocent, but at the same time, I wasn't going to let them destroy our lives either.

We didn't just win the war, only to now lose the battle.

I nodded to Peter, and he immediately grabbed the male of the small group, taking him about fifty feet from the two females. I instructed Rosalie to do the same to the blond female, and I crouched down in front of the brown haired one.

I could feel their fear, but something was wrong. Their emotions weren't coming off as a steady stream, but in erratic intervals. I paused before speaking, trying to determine the reason for not being able to feel a consistent flow of… _something…anything_ from them. But there simply was no explanation for it.

I looked at Edward, and then Alice and I could feel their frustration. They both were experiencing the same thing.

I ignored it, and focused on the task at hand.

"What's your name?"

"B-Bella."

I tried to smile at her, but the fact that she recoiled from me suggested that I failed. It was a good thing I didn't have fangs, or she'd be trying to run for the hills by now. "Okay Bella, start from the beginning, and tell me why you're here," I said to my captive.

"Why did t-they t-take you a-away like that?" she asked, looking around at us.

_How the hell do I answer a question like that?_ Oh yeah, I don't have to, because I'm the badass vamp here. I didn't have to explain myself to anyone, especially to two sniveling little girls and a pissy boy.

"Look, I need you to focus and tell me why you're here," I said, a bit more forceful than before.

She swallowed several times before attempting to speak. "I-I t-told you, w-we w-were on a s-science e-expedition."

"This is private property, who or what gave you the right to be here?"

"Don't tell him anything Bella!" the male shouted. "Let her go you son of bitch!"

"Well, well well, look who wants to speak up now." I stood and faced the male. "Pissy boy has something to say, Peter."

"But he didn't ask for permission to speak," Peter said. He grabbed the boy up by the collar, letting his toes barley touch the ground. "I think we need to teach him the rules."

"Shut up Mike and let me handle this!" Bella yelled. "Leave him alone!"

I gestured for Peter to let him down, and then I moved to stand in front of him, getting right up in the boy's face. "I think we can relax the rules this time Peter, besides, I want to hear what Pissy boy has to say. Go ahead Mike, speak," I taunted him.

Mike's adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before stuttering incoherent sounds. "Umm…I uh…but…."

"Yeah, I thought so." I clamped a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down to the ground. "Just sit down and shut up."

"Don't say anything Bella," the blond female said. "They're just gonna kill us anyway."

I turned my attention to her. "Now how do you know what we're going to do?"

"It's okay Jessica," Bella interrupted, before answering my question from before. "We got l-lost in the w-woods. That's all."

"Where is the rest of your group?"

"It's just us!" Jessica shouted. "There is no one else in our group, so please just let us go!"

I could feel her deception. She was lying to protect her other classmates.

"You're lying. How _many_ of you are out there?" I asked, looking between Jessica and Bella.

No answer.

"How _long_ were you out there?"

No answer, Bella just stared at me, blinking.

Her silence was starting to annoy me, and I could feel the demon inside of me scratching at the edge of my reasoning abilities. I took a couple of steps back and tried to push him away. All they needed to do was to answer my questions. Was that too hard?

"What did you _see_ while you were out there?"

Again, she didn't answer, and I snapped, grabbing her arms and lifting her off the ground as I shook her. "Answer me damn you!"

"Jasper, let her go!" Carlisle commanded, clamping a hand on my arm. Her fear, multiplied by that of her friends, slammed into me and I dropped her. The male screamed out to his friend and fought against Peter's hold on him. "Walk away Jasper."

When in Major mode, I listened to no one, and Carlisle knew better than to try to pull rank on me on the battlefield. I snarled at him, he turned and snarled right back, effectively letting me know that in this case, he was the head vamp.

I conceded for the moment, walked twenty feet away and waited.

He turned to Bella, and examined her arms. She flinched from the temperature of his hands on her warm flesh. Seeing that they were not broke, but only starting to turn purple with bruises, he knelt down on the ground beside her.

"Bella, my name is Carlisle. I want to apologize on behalf of my son, he's a bit…passionate about things at times."

She nodded, keeping her eyes locked on me.

I snorted.

He shifted to face her, and Esme came to sit down on the ground beside her. "You met my wife Esme, and what Jasper was trying to ask you is really important to my family."

"So take your time honey, and tell us what we need to know," Esme prompted.

I could hear her heart rate slow down, and she took a couple of calming deep breaths before speaking.

"We're forestry students at UW, and we're doing a study for our internship with The Future of Washington Forest Products."

"Oh that's wonderful; I've heard a lot of good things about that study," Esme said. "But you're quite a bit of distance from the road, what brings you this far into the forest?"

"We got lost from our group when I was trying to find a meadow that I used to camp in as a child," she said. "What are you going to do with us?"

"We wish you no harm," Carlisle said. "But we need to know what you saw."

Bella looked over at her friends. "Please let them go," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "It wasn't their fault, I convinced them to go with me."

"Bella, tell us what you saw," Esme said.

"We won't tell anyone, I promise," she cried. "Please don't hurt them."

"It's not that simple dear."

"J-just t-take me. K-kill me instead," she offered.

"Carlisle!" Alice yelled. "They're coming!"

"Who?" I asked.

"The Volturi!" Edward said.

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**A/N: Okay guys, tell me what you think so far? I've always been intimadated about writing a vamp/human fic, simply because vampire characteristics are so not the same as human characteristics. **

**I'm still in the middle of writing my first fic, To Keep You Safe, so the updates on this one will be regular, but may not be every week. Please just be patient with me as I work through each story. Reviews help me write through the tough times, so please be generous.**


	2. Chapter 2

**tHirTeEn**

**Chapter 2**

**Thanks to my beta's Cullen818 and JamesRamsey-you guys have been so supportive and encouraging that it just makes me squee out loud! **

**I hope you guys like this one. **

**SM owns it!**

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**BPOV**

"Hey Bella, look!"

I turned and looked at Mike. He was dangling a piece of shed snake skin over his open mouth and wagging his tongue out as if he were going to taste and swallow it.

"Congratulations Mike, you're a moron," I deadpanned.

"Oh c'mon Bells, lighten up a little."

Jessica laughed like the ditz she was. I couldn't believe my luck; I had gotten stuck with the two dumbest stooges on campus. Why in the hell, out of all of the students in the internship program, did Professor Banner pair me up with tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber? Oh yeah, I knew why, he thought that my 4.0 GPA would rub off of them through osmosis or some shit like that.

What was it he said? _'They'll benefit from the studious example you set Bella. Take them under your wing and encourage them'_.

Encourage them my ass, right now I wanted to murder them both.

"That's so funny Mike," Jessica laughed. "That was funny, right Bella?"

"Yeah, I split my side laughing."

"How much farther to this meadow?" Mike asked, for the millionth time.

We were on the edge of the Olympic National Forest in Forks, Washington, collecting soil samples and documenting tree development. Presently, we were en route to a meadow that my father used to take me camping in as a child. It was about a two mile hike from the Klahanie Campground where our group leader dropped us off that morning.

My father grew up in Forks, and I spent every summer from the age of five to fourteen in the little nothing of a town, visiting with my grandmother and hanging out with my friends from the Quileute Reservation. I knew the area well, but with the current side show named 'Mike and Jessica's Dumbass Moments' that I was constantly forced to watch, I had gotten us turned around and a little bit lost.

The summer before my fourteenth birthday, my friend Jacob had taught me how to track and find my way through the woods, and so I wasn't overly concerned that we wouldn't be able to find our way out. I was however, more concerned with the fact that I was tempted to murder either one of my moronic charges with my Swiss army knife before finding civilization again.

"I think it's just beyond that ridge over there," I said, looking up from my GPS and noting which way the river flowed. I checked my watch and then looked up at the over cast sky. It was early yet, and we had just enough time to get to the meadow, collect our samples, and snap a few pictures before we needed to head back to camp. "We need to move, double time, in order to make it though."

"Yes sir!" Mike said, snapping me a salute, and then burst into a round of giggles with Jessica.

_Maybe I could choke them with my sneaker laces,_ I thought. I rolled my eyes and took a long sip of water from my canteen. "Alright guys, let's go."

The ridge was farther away than it looked, and by the time we made it through the thick underbrush to the large grouping of boulders, we were all sweating and more than a little tired. Jessica dropped her backpack and sunk to the ground beside it.

"I'd better get a fucking 'A' for all of this work," she complained.

"I know, me too _Bella_," Mike said, as if he was the one getting the A's all along and if by somehow following me out to the middle of buttfuck nowhere, _I_ was putting _his_ GPA in jeopardy.

"Don't worry about your grade, you'll get an 'A'," I said, and dropped my backpack down beside Jessica's. "Just help me prepare the containers so that we don't waste time in getting the samples. I think it's gonna rain soon," I said looking up at the clouds. "Do you hear that thunder?"

The weather in Forks was unpredictable at best. Well, I take that back, the only unpredictable thing about it was if it were going to just misty rain all day long, or if there was going to be a torrential downpour. One thing about it though, some type of water would fall from the sky.

"Rain? I can't believe you would drag us out here in the middle of nowhere, and now it's gonna rain!"

Really, can this chick get any more dense that she already was? "Newsflash Jessica, this is Washington, it rains damn near every day."

"I know that, but my hair looks really good today."

_Oh my God, shoot me now!_

I dug around in my backpack for the small plastic containers and markers, and passed them around to Mike and Jessica. "Let's get some samples here, and then some more out in the meadow."

"How far is the meadow from here?" Mike asked.

"It's just through those trees there."

"Well if you guys start getting the samples here, I'm gonna start out there before it rains."

"Man, that thunder is getting louder," Jessica said.

"Yeah, I guess the sound reverberates off of the rocks in the mountains," I said, tossing Mike the extra GPS. "Make sure to mark the coordinates, and we'll start documenting the tree growth here."

Mike took off with the equipment and Jessica and I started our task of documenting the tree growth pattern.

"So your dad used to bring you out here?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, we would come out here for a few days each summer and camp in the meadow and fish and just hang out, ya know?"

"When did he die?"

"I was sixteen."

"What happened?"

My father's death was painful, and at the time I suggested to Mike and Jessica about finding this meadow, I didn't even think about how many memories just being out here it would bring up. I looked up from the field notebook I was jotting notes in. "C-can we not discuss this?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's cool. It's just…"

"I understand, my grandmother died last summer," she offered. "And I know that's not the same thing, but we were really close."

"Whether it's a parent or a grandparent, it's still painful Jess."

She nodded.

We worked in silence for a while, listening to the intermittent crack of thunder. I took samples of the soil and clipped leaves off the plants in order to identify them once we got back to the lab.

"Bella! Jessica!" Mike shouted, running toward us. He was sweating profusely and his pale face had a panicked expression on it.

"Mike, what's wrong?" I asked, running toward him.

He tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground, face first. He recovered almost as fast as he fell, jumping to his feet and grabbing onto Jessica and I.

"We gotta get out of here," he panted, dragging us behind him.

"What the hell Mike? We aren't anywhere near being finished," Jessica said, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

He stopped dragging us, doubled over and threw up in the bushes next to him. "Fighting…ripping…body parts off." He choked out, pointing toward the meadow. "We got to get the fuck out of here!"

"Quit joking around Mike and get back to work," Jessica said.

"I'm not fucking around. I'm tellin' ya now, something ain't right out there!"

"Just calm down and tell us what you saw Mike," I said.

He ran his hands through his hair, yanking on the ends. "I-I can't e-even d-describe it Bella. It's l-like these people, if you can even call them that, fighting with each other. But it's so much worse than that, they're slaughtering each other. A-and there are these g-giant, horse sized w-wolves…we…let's get o-out of h-here!"

Jessica tossed her field notebook down, and took off running in the direction of the meadow. "Well I'm gonna go see for myself," she called out over her shoulder.

"No wait!" Mike yelled, before taking out after her. "I don't think that's a good idea Jess!"

Great! Just fucking great! On top of everything else that I had to put up with, now I had to go running off after these two morons. I snatched up my backpack, shoving the containers, markers and notebooks into it before zipping it up and throwing it over my shoulders.

I found them about three minutes later, hiding under a bush at the edge of the meadow. As soon as I touched Jessica's shoulder, she jumped and shrieked in surprise. Mike clamped a hand over her mouth and motioned for me to get down.

Whatever I was expecting, and the way Mike described what he had seen, this was a hundred times worse. The three of us sat there, too stunned to speak at what we saw playing out in front of us.

I didn't even know how to describe it other than sheer and complete terror. It was worse than any horror movie I had ever seen. These people were in fact fighting, but it was so much more than that; they were literally ripping each other to shreds. And the strangest part of it all was the fact that there was no blood. It didn't make sense. How can you rip someone's arms off, _and there be no blood?_

Mike was right, there were giant sized wolves ripping into them as well. We could hear their snarls and growls from where we were hiding.

"Why isn't there any blood?" Mike asked.

"Maybe they're just playing around," I suggested, trying to find an excuse for the craziness that was playing out in front of us. "It's got to be an illusion or magic or something."

"Every time they collide with each other, that noise like thunder sounds," Jessica said. "How could they possibly make that noise?"

"I don't know," Mike said. "This is really fucked up. I've never seen wolves that big before!"

"A-and their just k-killing e-each o-other!" I said.

Jessica silently pointed out a blond male, running across the field so fast that he appeared to be just a blur. He jumped and landed on the back of a red headed female that was struggling with another, black haired female, and in one swoop, took the red haired woman's head off.

And with that, it was over.

We sat there, huddled together under the bush and low hanging tree limbs, staring at the scene before us, too afraid to speak or move.

"I wanna know what the hell happened," Jessica said. "Because this, this is not normal."

"Who the fuck cares what happened, we got to get the hell out of here," Mike said.

"We need to tell the police or the FBI or someone, anyone," Jessica said.

"More like Mulder and Scully, 'cause this is some X Files shit!" I said. "Something smells funny."

"And what are we gonna say?" Mike asked angrily. "We just witnessed a bunch of people ripping each other apart and some horse sized wolves gnawing on a person's leg? We'll be committed to the nearest loony bin before we can even blink! Let's get the fuck outta here."

"Wait a minute, we can't just leave," I said. "And, do you guys not smell that?"

"The hell you say, watch me," Mike said, turning to move out from under the bush. "I'm getting' the hell out of this nightfuckingmare and away from that God awful funky ass smell!"

"Hold on Mike, they might see us," Jessica said, grabbing his arm. "Let's just wait and see what they're gonna do, 'cause-"

He yanked his arm out of her grasp. "'Cause nothing Jessica. You and Swan sit here and keep vigil on those freaks, but I'm getting the hell out of here and forgetting that I saw anything."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

We had been so wrapped up in arguing with each other that we had failed to notice that one of _them _had approached us. She stood over us with her hands on her tiny hips and a menacing expression on her face.

"Answer me," she demanded.

Neither of us said anything.

"Get up!"

"Look lady, just let us leave alone," Mike said, scrambling to his feet. "I'd hate for you to get hurt, 'cause my girls here have been trained in the Bruce Lee School of _Jeet Kune Do_, and they will kick your _ass_!"

She rolled her eyes. "Carlisle. Jasper!" She yelled and turned away from us.

"Shut up Mike," Jessica and I whispered in unison.

"What?" he asked, shrugging.

"Just don't say a damn thing," I said.

"Follow me," the black haired lady commanded. "And don't even think about trying to run."

From that moment on, things went from bad to worse. There appeared to be two leaders of the group, one with a calming demeanor and the other, quick tempered and ready to eliminate us at one wrong word.

We sat on the ground, clutching each other's hands and trying not to think about our future. I didn't want to lose my arms or my head for one wrong word, so I sat there, racking my brain trying to come up with a way out of the mess we had gotten ourselves into. I was also trying to come up with a plausible explanation for what we had seen.

In high school I had read all sorts of books on mythological creatures. Delving into folklore and the abnormal had been a hobby of mine, and the only thing that I could come up with was that these people belonged in one of those categories.

_But which one?_

Neither of them had fangs, or scrunched up foreheads like on Buffy. I couldn't even see any visible horns, wings or other odd appendages. They did seem to have super human strength and funny colored eyes though. I had never seen anyone else with honey amber eyes like that.

On top of that, the blond male, the one with the explosive attitude, seemed to snarl and growl a lot. That was actually kinda sexy, and even though I would like to fantasize about him a little more, I pushed those thoughts away. I had bigger fish to fry right now.

But, was the fact that they were really strong and had funny colored eyes and made animal noises enough to identify what they were? Not really. One thing was for certain though, they were definitely not human.

Outer space aliens then? Maybe they were like the aliens on that 80's sci fi show called _**V**_. Those aliens appeared to be human but required special glasses to protect their eyes. So maybe that's who these people were, without the special glasses though. Maybe they had contacts now that would do the job. And if I recalled, those aliens had a distinctive resonance to their voices. The little black haired woman that found us had a sing song melody to her voice.

So was that it then? These "people" were aliens come to earth to strip us of our minerals and natural resources and to feed from us. I looked up at the over cast sky, searching for the huge mothership that they must have come to our planet in. I was sure it would have to be pretty big to transport all of what they needed back to their home planet.

The tall, blond male told me that his name was Jasper, and he started asking me questions about what we had seen. I could understand why he wanted to know, if I had just ripped someone's head off, I wouldn't want anyone to know either. I would do everything possible so that I could eliminate anyone who might potentially tell.

After he ordered that Jessica, Mike and I be separated, I answered some of his questions, but when it came to him inquiring about what we saw, I closed my mouth. I was not going to incriminate us.

He got mad, really really mad and grabbed me. I kissed my arms goodbye and hoped that I would live to see the prosthesis that they would give me. I had read a recent article about the new technology that they had developed with bionic limbs with artificial intelligence. I didn't have six million dollars, but maybe they could put me on a payment plan or something.

Or maybe their alien technology could regenerate skin tissue and I could grow another set. But then, would it grow human flesh or alien flesh? I didn't think the government would take kindly to me checking '_other_' under the race column on the equal employment forms, and adding in 'half human/half alien'.

The other leader, the one with the silver blond hair and quiet melodic voice—apparently, they all sounded similar-commanded that he put me down. Jasper snarled at him, but complied. He introduced himself to me as Carlisle, and then his wife, Esme.

I noted how cold his hands were, and it made me again think about those damned aliens. As it turned out, those aliens were really reptiles masquerading in human skin. Reptiles were cold blooded animals. Coincidence? I think not.

I felt very comfortable with both of them, that is, until they started asking me what we had seen while hiding out in the woods. I begged them both to just let Mike and Jessica go. I knew that they both had families, parents and siblings that would miss them. I didn't have that luxury, so it would just be easier for me to take the blame and suffer the consequences.

No one would care if they locked me up in the cargo hold of their mothership. I would even promise to sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement or something.

And then the small, petite black haired woman announced that someone named Volturi was coming.

Who was Volturi?

**JPOV**

"The Volturi?" I asked. "How many of them?"

Alice paused for a moment, trying to concentrate on the vision that obviously kept slipping from her mental grasp. I could feel the on and off of our human visitors emotions, so I knew what Alice was going through, trying to pinpoint a particular moment in time while it went in and out like that.

"Looks like Jane, Demetri, Felix, Alec, Chelsea and Aro."

"How much longer?" Carlisle asked.

"Four minutes and thirty nine seconds," Alice said. "Oh, and Eleazar is with them too."

"Eleazar?" Carlisle asked. "What's he doing with them?"

"I can't _See_ anything," Alice complained. "It keeps going in and out."

I felt the same, I couldn't _feel_ anything. But it was too late now to be trying to figure it all out.

There was no way we could feasibly hide three humans and the Volturi not know it. Sure, at first we couldn't even tell that they were out there, but one touch from Aro, and he would know what was up. He would know if we were trying to hide them.

If we were human drinkers it might be possible to play off their existence. We could claim them as our snacks, but since we were strict vegetarians, that wasn't an option. Even Peter and Char—who, when not living with us, fed off humans-couldn't pull off that.

I ran my hands through my hair and noticed that they oddly smelled of Bella. I had only touched her once, and I already reeked of her. She had an intoxicatingly sweet smell and her scent sparked a physical reaction in me that I wasn't expecting. I didn't know how to describe it; it was more than a feeling of hunger, it was a tight tugging feeling in my chest.

W_hat the hell?_

I pushed the feeling away; we had bigger issues to deal with now.

"Carlisle?" I asked, seeking direction since he had the most experience with the Volturi.

"We just have to tell the truth," Carlisle said. "And then deal with it as it comes."

"W-What's happening?" Bella asked, looking around with wide eyes.

I motioned for Peter and Rose to bring the other two humans over. "Look you three, just sit here and keep your mouths closed."

"Why? Are you going to kill us if we don't?" Mike asked flippantly. For someone who had just pissed themselves in front of nine vampires, he certainly was mouthy.

"No, I won't have to," I said. "Because _they_ will."

I had only met the Volturi once or twice in my long life, and that was once or twice too many. Collectively, they gave off an air of cockiness, like they were major bad-asses. I guessed that was what made them so effective, but I always wondered what would happen if I could catch a member of the Guard alone.

I was sure that I had much more experience in fighting than either of them combined, and because of their lack of involvement in the affairs that really mattered in the vamp world, I would love the chance to teach one of them a lesson. How fast would their cocky attitude disappear, and real fear set in? Would he or she beg for mercy? I pushed the thought away, less Aro ask for my hand.

"Jasper," Esme whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Kill the insolent attitude, you're projecting, and it's making me want to bitch slap someone."

I couldn't help but smile, I loved it when Esme got into her gangsta mode.

"Sorry, mom."

She loved it when I called her mom. She grinned at me like a Cheshire cat.

The Volturi appeared at the other end of the meadow, and stood congregated there for dramatic effect I was sure. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I hated this showy display of authority. Why couldn't they just forget all of the pomp and circumstance and either kill us, or let us get on with the rest of our lives?

Peter snorted impatiently, and I could feel that he felt the same way.

"Easy," Carlisle warned, before stepping out in front of us.

We formed a V shape behind him, like ducks flying through the air. I could hear the boy Mike behind us whispering to Bella and the other girl, trying to convince them into making a run for it. I caught his eye and snarled at him, effectively shutting him up and destroying his feeble plans.

In the blink of an eye they were in front of us.

"Carlisle old friend," Aro said. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, yes it has been Aro. What it's been, about thirty years? Tell me, what brings you to Forks?"

Aro stepped out in front of his group. "My brothers and I discussed your situation, and we decided to come lend a hand. But it looks like you were able to take care of things just fine without us." He gestured toward the funeral pyre.

"Yes, it was not an easy fight, but we were victorious. Please convey my gratitude to the others for such generosity of thought."

Aro bowed. "I'm sure Caius and Marcus will be happy to know that you and your family are doing well."

"Yes, we are well. And as you can see, we were just in the middle of clearing the meadow of any remains. If you'll excuse us-"

"Not so fast old friend. Surely you didn't think that we wouldn't notice your visitors?" Aro nodded to Bella, Mike and the blond.

Carlisle cleared his throat—a nervous human gesture—before turning to look at the three humans. "Yes well, they will be a part of the clean up process."

I could feel Carlisle's trepidation. Always the humanitarian, Carlisle didn't even like to feign as if he were going to hurt someone. He was a healer, not a killer.

"Interesting." He broke through our V formation and walked directly up to the boy. "Tell me, what is your name?"

I was praying that Mike would just answer him and be done with it. I didn't want to be killed because some pissy _child _wanted to be stubborn.

"Mike, his name is Mike," Bella said, clamping a hand over Mike's mouth.

"Well I didn't ask you, now did I?" Aro asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but my friend Mike here is a dumbass. And you seem to be the type to not deal well with idiocy, so I thought I'd save you some time, and answer for him."

Aro threw back his head and laughed, then extended his hand toward her. "And what is your name?"

"Isabella, or just Bella, Swan," she said, accepting his hand.

"Ah, interesting," he said after a moment, and released her hand.

I looked over at Edward. He had a blank expression on his face that mirrored his emotions. With Aro touching Bella's hand, Edward should have been able to read Aro's thoughts. Thoughts evoked memories, and memories triggered emotions. But I _felt_ nothing, as I'm sure Edward _heard_ nothing.

What the hell was going on?

I didn't care what happened to the pitiful humans, but I did care about what was going on with my gift. I had lived nearly a hundred and fifty years as a vampire being able to _feel_ out a situation, and now for it to be suddenly gone—just fucking gone without reason—was enough to set me off. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

Carlisle turned and looked at me, silently begging me to not interfere or draw attention to ourselves. I bit my tongue and stayed quiet.

"Aro," Eleazar said, stepping forward.

Aro held up his hand, stopping Eleazar from saying whatever he was about to say. "Jane, if you would please be so kind."

Jane stepped forward, cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow.

Nothing happened.

"Hmm…" Aro said, tapping his chin with a finger. "And your other friend here, what is your name?"

The damn intermittent wave of emotions was back, which was a helluva lot better than not feeling anything at all, and I suddenly felt a wave of smug satisfaction coming off of Jessica when Aro addressed her.

_Stupid girl, she didn't know what the hell she was doing,_ I thought.

"Jessica, Jessica Stanley," she said, elbowing Bella out of the way and offering her own hand to Aro.

Aro accepted her hand.

I watched his face go from the strange wonderment of talking to three humans—feeding required no conversation, so I could positively say that it had been a while since he had actually spoken to someone with a heart beat—to a firm resolution of a decision just made.

I wasn't stupid, I knew what that look meant, but I didn't know how far his destruction would reach until Alice and Edward both stepped forward.

"Aro-," Edward began, but was grabbed by Felix, and Demetri stepped up to Alice.

He released Jessica's hand. "Jane."

I shielded my mind to prepare once again for what I knew was coming.

"Aro, please-" Carlisle said.

In less than a second, Jessica dropped to the ground, screaming and clawing the earth in pain.

"Jessica!" Bella and Mike shouted, and fell to the ground beside their friend.

"What are you doing to her?" Bella demanded.

"You fucking bastard!" Mike screamed and jumped up.

Emmett caught him around the waist and threw him back to the ground. "I don't think you wanna do that, kid."

"Stop this!" Bella yelled. "You're hurting her!"

And as soon as it started, it stopped.

"I did not instruct you to stop Jane," Aro said, upset.

"But sir, I have not stopped," Jane replied, face bunching up in concentration once more.

Jessica lay on the ground, curled into a ball and crying from the residual effects of the pain and the fear of the unknown, but not actually feeling it.

Aro paced in front of the three humans, deep in thought. "Kill them, kill them all."

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**A/N: Okay guys, I'm eager to hear what you think about this, so please don't hold back. Teasers to everyone who reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**tHirTeEn**

**Chapter 3**

**Thanks to all of you for the lovely reviews, and for adding this fic to your alert list and favorites! It really makes writing easier when you know that people like your story.**

**Warning: this chapter contains death and a description thereof. It's not too graphic, but what can you expect when three humans are surrounded by a meadow full of vampires.**

**SM owns it!**

**

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****JPOV**

_Aro paced in front of the three humans, deep in thought. "Kill them, kill them all."_

Bella and the boy both jumped to their feet. The girl, I think Jessica was her name, still lay on the ground, crying harder now.

"Hold the fuckin' phone, you can't just kill us!" the boy yelled.

"What makes you think-"

Peter reached out and yanked the idiot back down to the ground, and then clamped a hand over Bella's mouth before she could speak further. She struggled against his vice-like grip.

"Shut up kid!" Peter told him. "And you, stop fighting me. Arguing and fighting _me_ won't help."

With the boy's outburst, he was not only nailing the lid down on his own coffin even further, but he was also putting the rest of us in danger of losing our heads as well. Bella seemed to get the fact that now was not the time to say anything, and immediately shut up and stopped trying to fight Peter.

Carlisle jumped forward. "Now wait just a moment Aro-"

"Carlisle, if you are going to presume to tell me that these three pitiful excuses for humans are under your care, and as so, you allowed them to see what happened here in this meadow, then you sir, are in contempt of _Our_ laws, and have endangered every one of us. Are you willing, sir, to give your own life in place of one of theirs?" Aro asked.

Carlisle hesitated a moment, and changed his tactics at the last second. "All I was going to say, Aro, is that perhaps we can settle this, another way,"

"And so what would you suggest, old friend? Surely you don't think that we can just let them walk out of here, and run back to their other human friends?"

"No, that is not what I had in mind," Carlisle said.

In all the time I had known Carlisle, I had never known him to lie before. But right now, he was lying through his razor sharp teeth.

Letting the three humans live and walk out of the meadow was exactly what he had in mind. I could feel his self loathing for telling the lie, and his fear of being caught up in it.

I understood that Carlisle had compassion and the utmost respect for any living creature, and I knew that his compunction for humanity and over all respect for life must have something to do with his relationship with a higher being. Hell, I had even seen him praying over his kill, right before devouring it. Plus he and Edward were always yammering on and on about our souls, and what awaited us in the afterlife. But what I didn't get was why he was willing to put all of our lives in danger for three people that he didn't even know. And, not only that, but he would have to be crazy to mention anything about spirituality to Aro.

The Brothers had lived for over three thousand years, and to them, spirituality was for weak humans, and not something worth debating, questioning or really even worrying about. And really, why would we? Unless someone struck a match to close to us, or we met with a guillotine blade sharp enough to cut through our granite hard skin, we would live, well, forever.

"Why do you care, what's it to you what I deem necessary for these three?" Aro asked.

"I have territorial rights," Carlisle said quickly.

_What the hell? _

Of all the things to pull out of his ass, Carlisle said that he had territorial rights!

Aro laughed, clutching his side and beating on his thigh. His glee made me chuckle a little, and I had to rein it in before I had all of us on the ground rolling around in a fit of laughter.

"Territorial Rights?

I was so caught up in trying to figure Carlisle out, that I didn't immediately notice that my gift was back.

For the first time since the boy's outburst, I looked over at Bella and her friends. I noticed that she had her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on her arms. She wasn't moving, but throwing off feelings of peace and resolution.

I thought her reaction and emotions were really weird giving the decree that Aro just announced, but dismissed it. How she was feeling was of her own concern, not mine. I needed to be more focused on how I was going to keep us from all being killed, and not on why this little scrap of a human had occupied even a fraction of my time. And, I definitely didn't need to be thinking about why, whenever I looked at her, I felt…_something_.

The other two humans were sitting in a similar fashion, but were crying and rocking back and forth. I took my focus off of them and concentrated on what Aro was saying.

"What makes you think you have Territorial Rights?" Aro asked.

"Over two hundred years ago I was a guest in Volterra."

"Yes, and we missed your companionship when you left us to come here to the New World, old friend."

"As have I missed Volterra, Aro. But if you'll remember, while I was there I did quite a bit of reading and research through your vast libraries."

"Yes, I do remember. You could always be found with a book in hand."

"One book in particular, Aro. _Principi e Decreti dei Vampiri_. Principles and Decrees of Vampires," he explained.

Bella's head popped up and I could see clarity and understanding written all over her face.

Aro's face fell and he shifted from one foot to the other. I had never seen a vampire, outside of my own family that is, act so humanly. You would think that after three thousand years of being a vampire, the man wouldn't be shocked or surprised by much.

"I have not heard anyone speak of that book in quite a long time."

"I imagine not," Carlisle said. "Reading is not something most vampires take the time to do, as most of us are too busy seeking our next meal."

"What is the _Principi e Decreti dei Vampiri_?" Edward asked.

"Three thousand years ago after Marcus, Caius and I overthrew the Romanians, we set forth to establish a set of rules for our kind," Aro explained. "We realized that at the very core of each one of us, we were blood thirsty savages intent on killing every living creature in our path. Blood rights were the reason we overthrew the Romanians in the first place. But my Brothers and I wanted more than to just be rulers over a race of dirty, wild monsters, so we educated and refined ourselves."

"It was your refinement and sophistication that attracted me to visit Volterra," Carlisle said. "And every government needs a set of rules, or principles if you will, that will hold the people of its sovereignty accountable."

"So you wrote a constitution of sorts to help in enforcing the law," I said.

Aro nodded. "And of course, with Carlisle being a 'nighttime patron of the arts', it was only natural for him to seek out the knowledge of our people, to learn the rules of government. You amaze me my dear friend. Out of all of the vampires that have come and gone through the gates of Volterra, I believe that you are the only one who has taken the time to actually read _our_ guidelines and laws."

Carlisle continued. "Page one thousand, four hundred and seventy two, paragraph seven, states that, and I quote: 'If after winning a Territorial war based on blood rights, the successful vampire should take control of said territory and all natural resources therein. In addition, traditional principles of territory rights will include: Control, including sole decision making of, and the use of, said territory; the right to benefit from the territory and a right to exclude others from the territory'." He stopped quoting and looked at Aro. "This is now my territory, and they are our natural resources. They belong to me."

Aro thought for a moment, tapping a long pale finger to his chin and pacing in front of the three humans. He stopped suddenly and faced Carlisle. "But you seemed to have circumvented one important factor Carlisle. Above everything, Our secrets are to remain just that, secret."

Alice gasped, eyes going blank. "Oh no!"

In the second it took for her vision to flash, the boy jumped up and ran.

"MIKE!" Bella and the girl shouted. "NO!"

"Stop him," Aro ordered.

It was Felix that went after him, hardly expending any energy to do so. He easily caught the boy by his arm, and those of us with supernatural hearing could hear the bones in his arm breaking and the muscles tearing. He screamed out in pain as his arm was twisted behind his back.

"This Carlisle, is what I am talking about. They," Aro pointed toward Bella and the girl, "cannot be trusted. Finish him."

Bella and the girl pleaded with Aro to spare their friend. Aro turned his back to their pleas, and grinned with great satisfaction as Felix sunk his razor sharp teeth into their friend's neck.

Esme turned away, wrapping her arms around the two girls and turning them away from the grizzly scene as they cried for their friend and their own fate.

Rose and Char reacted in a similar way, holding onto each with bowed heads.

I had killed many people in my lifetime, some deaths I relished, and others I did not. But standing there, listening to the cracking of the boy's neck and spine, the sound of his blood swooshing through his veins and the flutter of his fleeting heartbeat as Felix sucked from him, sickened me.

I didn't dare turn away though. Aro and the members of the Guard would never know how much this one human's death affected me. Felix was performing the very act that I had fought so long and so hard to break myself from, and the memory of how sweet fresh human blood tasted was right on the tip of my tongue. I could feel Felix's satisfaction as he drained the boy to the last drop, and my inner demon begged to be let loose on the other two humans.

I pushed the blood lust away. Among the others, I could feel Peter's disgust the most—because of our history he was opposed to savage killings just as much as I was—and I did my best not to project our feelings onto the others.

Felix dropped him like a bag of rocks and kicked his lifeless body away, licking his lips.

I could feel nothing but overbearing sadness and fear from the two girls, and the tugging in my chest intensified when I looked at Bella again.

Carlisle stood speechless for a moment, letting the fact that he could not save this particular human's life sink in. I felt his remorse and his grief. Edward moved and touched his shoulder. Carlisle took a deep, unnecessary breath, and released it.

"Aro, old friend, please allow me to take responsibility for the two girls," Carlisle said.

"What will you do with them Carlisle? Will you foster them in your home; make them your pets of sorts?" Aro asked mockingly.

"Yes," Esme said, stepping forward. If she could cry I knew that tears would be racing down her face. Carlisle grabbed her arm to hold her back. "I mean, not as our pets, but we will keep them in our home and –"

"And what?" Aro asked. "You will keep them in your home for how long? Until they grow old and die? Until one of them escapes and tells the world who we are? I cannot allow that to happen, my dear Esme." He turned and strode toward the girl Jessica, and taking her by the hand, led her over to Demetri. He touched her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "Dear child, do not be afraid, your afterlife awaits you. That is, after all, what you humans live your entire life for, is it not?"

"Please, please…please," she begged for her life.

Aro tisked. "Awww, hush now little one."

Demetri smiled just before claiming her for his own meal.

"Wait just a minute," Bella said, snapping out of her stupor and slapping away the tears on her face. "Who the hell died and made you the head vamp in charge?" Esme restrained her. "Let me go. If he's gonna kill me anyway, then what does it matter what I say to him?"

"Because your life is not the only one that hangs in the balance here," Esme whispered to her.

"Did you have something to say to me my child?" Aro asked sweetly, ignoring Esme.

Esme released her and stepped back.

Bella seemed to consider what Esme had said to her, and tamped down her anger. She took a deep breath, and then drew herself up to her full height before speaking again. "How can you hold us accountable for something that we know nothing about? You just killed my friends and didn't even tell them why," she cried.

Aro smiled at her. "Dear child, from what I ascertained from little Jessica's simple mind, those two humans were not your friends. You know this, and yet you grieve for them?" Aro asked, touching a finger to the tears that ran down Bella's face.

"Whether or not they were my friends was not the issue. Their lives were precious," she argued.

"Yes, their lives were precious and life sustaining for the members of my Guard. Our secret must be kept at all cost, and your friends were not of the same mind as that."

"And so that's it? There's no other way? You're just gonna kill me?"

"If it's the pain you are worried about, don't. The whole process won't take but a few seconds." He took her hand and led her toward Alec. "Alec will be gentle, I promise."

Something within me propelled me forward, and I almost felt like I was being pushed or even pulled toward Bella. For some reason, the thought of Alec or any vampire really, touching her, feeding from her angered me.

_What the hell was wrong with me?_ I thought. _What is she to me?_

_Nothing!_ My demon roared.

_But she is…something_, my reasoning side argued.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Alice stopped me by wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Jasper," she whispered. "I need you."

She was trying to hide something, and as a result, she was throwing off a cocktail of indiscernible emotions. From past experience I knew that Alice could be sneaky and vindictive, and I wondered what in the world had she _Seen_ to make her act and feel that way at this precise moment. I didn't like the vibes I was picking up from her and pushed her away.

Trying to decipher what she was up to nearly made me miss what Eleazar was saying.

"Excuse me Aro," he said. "But perhaps there is another option."

"Not you too Eleazar," Aro said, frustrated. "Speak, and do so quickly."

"I am detecting something from her, as I am sure that you are as well. Just as Jane cannot bring her pain, you cannot hear her thoughts, am I correct?"

Aro paused before speaking. "Yes, you are correct."

Eleazar stepped forward, taking Bella's hand and leading her away from Alec and toward Edward. "And Edward, you cannot hear her thoughts either, can you?"

"No," Edward said, looking up and down at Bella.

I didn't like the way he was looking at her, and I had to stop myself from snarling at him.

_What the fuck?_

"Alice, what do you see when you look into Aro's decisions concerning Bella?"

"Nothing."

"And Jasper, what do you feel coming from Bella?"

"At the moment, nothing. But it comes and goes."

"Explain yourself, Mr. Whitlock," Aro said.

I didn't want to get in the middle of this. Why couldn't I just give a simple answer and keep the rest to myself? She was nothing to me or my family, and the more I explained, the greater the potential for pissing Aro off. We would never survive an attack from the Volturi Guards after the battle we had just fought with Victoria and her newborns. But I didn't have a choice now, I had to say something.

"I don't know how to explain it other than her emotions are coming off in waves. It's like she can turn it on and off at random."

"Simply put, she is a shield," Eleazar said. "Even as a mere human, her mind is shielding us from hearing her thoughts, her emotions and from seeing decisions on her future. She was even able to physically cloak herself and two other human's detectable senses in a shroud of invisibility from a _group _of _vampires_. Isn't this correct Jasper?"

"Yes," I said, resolved to keep any other thoughts I had about the situation to myself.

"What is your point Eleazar?" Aro asked, impatiently.

"If she is this powerful as a human, then perhaps, as a vampire, she would be even more powerful. She may be of use to us, sir." He bowed to Aro and stepped back, fading into the background.

"Like Renata?" Aro asked.

Eleazar stepped forward again. "Yes, but different at the same time. Renata's shield is mental, but young Bella's shield appears to have some sort of physical attributes to it as well because she can cloak her scent, and the sound of her heartbeat. What else she is able to block remains to be seen."

"Wait, what are you saying I am?" Bella asked, confused.

The fact that Bella's shield was working intermittently, meant that she didn't know how to control it. And, truthfully, why would she know how to control it? Humans were not as self aware as vampires, and up until now, she didn't even know she had one.

I sucked in a deep breath. A vampire that could, not only mentally, but physically cloak his or her detectable senses would definitely be a force to reckon with. That kind of power could potentially be projected to cover multiple individuals. She could sneak up on anyone, and they wouldn't even know it until it was too late. Any army with her on their team would be damn near invincible.

With her on the Volturi Guard, Aro could take over the fucking world.

"Someone answer me dammit!" she screamed.

We all came to that same conclusion almost simultaneously, and no one answered Bella's question as we took in the gravity of the situation.

Aro smiled, and I was hit with an overwhelming sense of evil rage, heinous, repulsive, repugnant and just downright vicious feelings coming from him. It staggered me like a drunk human, and nearly brought me to my knees.

I had never before felt anything this depraved coming from someone else. And even when I was with Maria in the South, the one thing that came close to this feeling was my own inner demon. It had taken me damn near fifty years to get a hold on my demon like tendencies, and at times, all the self control that I had mastered, went out the window when I was provoked.

Aro circled around Bella, thinking out loud. "The solution is quite simple then," he said. "We will need someone with experience with training newborns to show you how to harness your power, and how to use it at will. You will also need to learn how to fight, unless of course, this shield manifests itself as some sort of invisible bubble around you, protecting you from physical blows."

"W-what do you mean, train me?"

"You'll become one of us, of course," he said, matter of factly.

"Whoa, whoa, wait just one minute! That involves pain, and dying, right? And then living like you, forever? Hell no! I didn't agree to this. Don't I get a say in what happens with my own life?"

"I'm sorry, no, you don't have a choice," Aro said, getting right up into her face.

Any normal human being would have backed down and shut up. But Bella didn't back down, and she definitely didn't shut up. She flipped off her emotions, but rage was clearly written all over her face.

"Like I said before," she said, pushing her face right back into Aro's, and stood with her hands on her hips, "I did not agree to this, so you can just go suck it Dracula!"

I expected Aro to just slaughter her on the spot. It's what I would have done if I had been just disrespected in front of my subjects by a mere human. But instead of a bloodbath, Aro stepped back, laughing.

"Oh my dear, you will make a wonderful addition to our Guard." He turned away from her, long coat flaring out behind him. "Eleazar, who among The Guard is experienced enough to train a newborn with special gifts?"

Eleazar said, "Perhaps Felix; he is a wonderful fighter."

"I would be honored to take on the challenge, sir," Felix said.

"No, no no. While you are an amazing fighter, Felix, you do not possess the experience needed in dealing with a gift."

"Sir," Demetri said, "I myself have a gift, and I am fairly skilled at fighting."

"Yes, but I have other plans that I will need you to assist me with, Demetri," Aro said.

Bella moved in front of Aro. "Maybe you didn't hear me Dracula, but I'm not-"

"Jasper!" Aro said, cutting Bella off.

From the exact second Aro mentioned Bella becoming a vampire, I knew that this moment was coming. I had spent many decades of my earlier years strategizing, developing battle plans, and finding ways out of sticky situations. But there was nothing that I could do to get me out of what was coming. That is, nothing short of flat out refusing. But if I refused, what would be the consequences?

It was a risk I was going to have to take.

"Jasper, you have extensive knowledge in training newborns, and you have a gift! Oh this is brilliant!"

"I'm sorry Aro, but I you're gonna have to find someone else, 'cause I ain't doin' it," I said in the politest voice I could muster. I guess I misjudged the polite factor because Carlisle threw some serious eye daggers my way. Always the politician, I knew that he was trying to think of a civil, polite way out of the situation. But I didn't give a damn; I just wasn't going to do this.

Aro threw up his hands in frustration. "Why is it that everyone assumes that they have a choice in this matter? Who do I have to kill before you people start falling in line with my wishes?"

"Aro," Carlisle said quickly. "Perhaps we can negotiate something reasonable, something that will accommodate all parties intended."

"I don't negotiate Carlisle, you know this. Now, will I get your cooperation Mr. Whitlock, or will I need to start eliminating members of your family to get what I want?"

As soon as he issued the threat, we assembled ourselves together, crouching low and preparing to protect ourselves.

Alice gasped. "Carlisle…Esme's first!"

"This is my family Aro!" Carlisle said, stepping in front of Esme to protect her.

"And you'll remember what I did to my own sister Didyme, don't you Carlisle?"

"You killed your own sister in order to get what you wanted?" Bella asked.

"My, my my, aren't you astute for a simple human," Aro sneered.

"You're a sick son of a bitch!" Bella shouted. "If you make me do this against my will, I will find a way to make you pay!"

Aro grabbed her by the neck, lifting her slightly off of the ground. "You want a choice, fine, I'll give you a choice. You choose to become one of us, or you die. But let's be clear about it little girl, I won't just suck you dry, I will torture you first. I've been alive for over three thousand years, I've seen many humans die, and I've killed more than I can remember, I can assure you, you will not like my methods."

He looked over at us. "And when I finish with you, I'll start on them next. Esme will go first, followed by Rose, Charlotte, and on and on until all of you are gone." He tossed Bella to the ground, where she crumbled, crying and trying to catch her breath. "So what will it be?"

Her defenses were down and her shield was off. I could feel Bella's fear, and she was shaking. She clutched her throat, coughing. "Fine."

"Ahh, wonderful, wonderful! And Mr. Whitlock, do I have your cooperation as well?"

Really, did I have a choice? Did any of us? It wasn't the fact that I wasn't able, or more than capable, for that matter, to train her, but it was what the training would do to me mentally. It would take me places that I had buried a long time ago. My demon would be out, and walking around in the light of the day instead of staying beneath the surface where I could control him.

Either way, I was putting my family in danger. If I didn't agree, Aro would kill us, and yet if I did agree, we all would still be in danger of my demon. I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn't.

"Yeah, sure," I said reluctantly, and the family minutely relaxed. "But only if this is my only task. After her training, I am free from any Volturi obligation."

"Fabulous! I will agree to that Mr. Whitlock. We will leave for Italy immediately."

_Italy? Wait just a minute, I wasn't expecting that one!_

"Wait a minute, Aro," Carlisle spoke up before I could. "I think it would be better for all of us, if Bella were allowed to remain here, in Forks, for her training. That way, we could assist Jasper."

"Request denied. She will have more than enough assistance in Volterra during and after her transformation. Plus, I want to be able to keep an eye on her progression, and I cannot do that here," he said, looking around the meadow in disgust.

_I did not want to go to Italy. There had to be a way out of this._ I thought. _Think, think think!_

"Well then, I have a request," Bella said, picking herself up off the ground.

She was either really dumb, or she had fucking balls of steel. Considering the fact that she had just faced off, and won for all intents and purposes —simply because she was still alive- the most powerful undead creature in the universe, I was leaning on the side of balls of steel.

Any other time I would have been in awe of the courage and tenacity it would take for any human to stand up for his or herself in this situation, but right now, I wished she'd shut up. The more she talked, the more she put us all in danger of losing our heads.

"What now?" Aro asked.

"I need time to put my life in order."

"What does it matter, you will live forever," Aro pointed out.

"I-I d-don't expect you to understand, because it's apparent that you have no humanity left, but it matters to me. There are questions I need answering, and things that I need to do." Her voice cracked and she looked down at the ground, kicking a small rock around with the toe of her sneaker. "The number one thing I need to do is to bury my classmates," she said, looking at the dead bodies of her friends. Peter and Emmett had laid them out, side by side and covered their faces with the jackets that they had been wearing.

Aro seemed to think about her request for a moment before responding. "Agreed, you have thirteen days to put your affairs in order. I will expect you and Mr. Whitlock to be in Volturi on the fourteenth day." He turned his back on her, but then turned right back around. "And don't even think about trying to escape, dear Bella. Demetri over there is the best of the best trackers in the world. He can go after and find anyone. You will not escape from me."

"Aro," Eleazar said. "If you had a member of the Volturi Guard, acting as your eyes, would you allow Bella and Jasper to remain here in Forks for her training?"

"And I suppose you, Eleazar, are offering your services?"

"I am, sir."

Aro nodded. "It is done, then. But make no mistake about it Mr. Whitlock, I expect nothing less than the best from Isabella. I want you to train her to fight as you would, for example, train your mate to fight." He thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact, Chelsea, will you assist these two with that? I want them temporarily mated. I think it will strengthen your pupil/teacher relationship."

"NO!" Alice yelled.

"Oh hell no," I said, moving away from Bella. "I don't need to be mated to her in order to train her."

Okay, so this is where I drew the line. I didn't want to be temporarily mated to Bella, or anyone else for that matter. I had been married to the spawn of Satan for the better part of fifty years, and I knew better now. While I knew that marrying someone, and being mated to them were two entirely different things, I wanted no part of any type of relationship.

I was quite satisfied with getting what I needed from Alice and then being able to pick up and leave when I wanted. I just couldn't do that with a mate—real or otherwise. I was a loner, and I needed my freedom. And so far, judging by the way Bella had been acting in the last hour or two, one full day around her as my mate, and my demon would be out and seeking to kill someone, anyone-namely her.

"Mated? What does that mean?" Bella asked.

Esme wrapped an arm around her shoulders as I steadily backed away from her. "It's similar to being married, but only more, intense," she whispered.

"Oh, yeah, well I'm with him on this one. We don't need any of that mating stuff in order for me to learn to fight and control this shield thing. I'm not givin' up my goodies to just any Tom, Dick and Vampire!"

"It's not a sexual thing," Esme said. "It's more of…it will be a protection for you."

"What the hell do I need to be protected from if I'm gonna be like you people?" Bella asked.

"Demetri," Aro said, and in the blink of an eye, Bella was gone.

Ten seconds later she and Demetri reappeared, standing right before us again, and not a hair out of place.

_What just happened, and why?_

Because she was confused and disoriented from moving so fast, Bella's shield was once again down, and I could feel the nervous quivers running through her.

"What just happened?" she asked, and stumbled before catching her balance.

"Chelsea," Aro said.

"I'm working on it sir," she said excitedly. She was staring at me in this really creepy way that kinda freaked me out. I was just about to ask her what her problem was when she extended her hand with an open palm, and touched Bella directly in the chest, over her heart. "And…I think…I have it!"

What did she have? What the hell was Chelsea talking about?

I felt something rip through me at the same moment she touched Bella. It was almost painful, and if I were human, I would have equated the feeling to having a mini heart attack.

Aro nodded, and Demetri came at Bella again. I reacted before I could consciously think about what I was doing. I caught him by the throat and slammed him to the earth, shaking the ground. Bella wobbled with the vibrations, and before she could fall, I had her in my arms, halfway across the meadow and shielding her from further attack.

"Are you okay?" I asked, running my hands over her face and hair.

"I'm f-fine," she whispered, looking up and momentarily paralyzing me with her large chocolate eyes. She was clinging to me for dear life and I felt that _something_ again, only just a bit stronger this time. "What just happened to us?"

I pushed away from her, shaking myself. "I-I don't know."

_What the hell am I doing?_ I thought. _What did I care if she were okay or not?_

"_That_ is the difference," Aro said when we returned to the group. "Before, you allowed her to be taken. As a newborn she will not know how to defend herself, and what if Demetri had been attacking her instead? After Chelsea's assistance, you reacted the way a mate is supposed to react. I want her training to be the most important thing to you so that it ensures she is trained properly."

Okay, so I could kinda see his point, but that still didn't mean that I agreed with this whole mating thing. Wasn't it enough that I was gonna have to have this chick hanging around me every second of every damn day, smelling all good and looking at me with those eyes of hers, did I have to be mated to her too? And who knew how long it would take for her to actually learn enough to satisfy Aro? This could take for freaking ever!

"Thirteen months," Aro said, as if he had touched me and read my thoughts. "In thirteen months I will expect her to be fully trained and ready to take her place in The Guard."

Okay, so I guess it's gonna take thirteen months. But how the hell was I supposed to get her ready in that short amount of time? The normal newborn phase generally took eighteen to twenty-four months, and that was just to get used to the blood thirst! How the hell was I supposed to train her to control her thirst, her shield _and_ teach her how to fight at the same fucking time?

"Aro, that's —"

"Not negotiable," he said with finality, and turned his back on us. "I will leave you now. Eleazar, I will expect a full report of her transformation in thirteen days, and then periodic updates on her progression."

Aro continued his instructions to Eleazar and Carlisle, and then, just as they had appeared; they were gone. We stood in the meadow, stunned, and looking back and forth at each other.

The sound of Bella throwing up brought us all back around.

"Are you okay honey?" Esme asked, stooping to help pick her up.

Bella wiped her mouth on her sleeve and stood up.

"Yeah, I'm cool." She slung her back pack over her shoulders and turned to us. "Well, it was nice to meet you all, I assure you that your secret is safe with me, but I'm outta here. Peace out."

"Wait a minute," Rose said. "You can't just leave."

"Why not? It's not like I'm gonna tell anybody what happened; who would believe me?"

"Didn't you hear Aro say that he would track you down and find you?" Char asked.

"Yeah, you mean kinda like you guys 'accidentally' found us in the woods?" Bella said, using air quotes. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna say anything. And, if this shield thing really works, then he won't be able to find me anyway."

"Maybe not you, but what about us?" Rose asked. "You're gonna leave us vulnerable to be attacked and slaughtered for something we didn't do."

"Yeah, well I didn't ask for this either, and I damn sure didn't do anything to warrant me having to _die_ in order to _live_!"

With that, she turned on her heel and marched off, mad.

Bella was hurling her fury all over the meadow, and it was all that I could do to focus my energy on not projecting it to the others. That damned tugging sensation was back, and it seemed to be pulling me behind her, pushing me in whichever direction she turned. I swear it was like a damn invisible umbilical cord, and for some reason it upset me that she was leaving.

I tried to ignore it, but the farther away she got from me, the stronger the tugging feeling.

_Damn Chelsea!_ I thought. _But, you felt this before Chelsea._

_Shut the fuck up! _My demon yelled at me_._

I had been listening to the exchange between my sister and Bella, and frankly, they both had a point. But I had overheard Aro's last instructions to Eleazar, and I figured that Bella would want to know what to expect should she try to break the agreement she had just made with the Volturi. Plus, I needed a way to make her stay. It seemed that as long as she was near me, that tugging, or a stretched rubber band sensation, was, while still very much there, not as strong.

"Renee Dwyer," I said.

Bella stopped dead in her tracks.

"And her husband, Philip Dwyer."

She turned to face me. "How do you know those names?"

"Who are they?" I asked. "I know that they must mean something, and be someone to you because you have them both listed as your emergency contacts in here." I tossed the wallet to her that Alec had lifted from her backpack when Demetri escaped with her. She caught it easily.

"They're my parents," she said softly. "My mother and step-father."

"Aro thought that you might try to leave, so he needed a little incentive to make you stay."

"B-but h-he w-wouldn't."

"If, in thirteen days, you haven't started your transformation, your mother and step father will pay the price," Eleazar said. "So, it's your choice, you become one of us, or they die."

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**A/N: Okay guys, so tell me what you think.**

**I have accepted a job offer in Allentown, PA, and will be moving there in the next two-three weeks. No worries, I don't start things that I don't finish, so I WILL continue writing and posting this story-it just maybe a little slower until I can settle my RL affairs- as well as my other one: To Keep You Safe. All I ask is that you keep reading and reviewing! Fair enough?**


	4. Chapter 4

**tHirTeEn**

**Chapter 4**

**All I can say is WOW! Thanks so much for your support for my little fic.**

**And thanks to the best betas in the world, Cullen818 and JamesRamsey, you guys are awesome!**

**SM has her version, this one is all mine!**

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**BPOV**

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

They knew how to find my mother, and my step-father.

I was trapped, and there was no way out.

Sure, my mother and I didn't always see eye-to-eye on things, and truth be told, we hardly spoke because of our differences of opinion. I was somewhat traditional in my thinking because I believed that a mother should be just that, a mother, and that a wife should be, well, faithful. She was of the opinion that a mother was supposed to be your irresponsible girlfriend, and that if someone better came along, that it was okay to break your marriage vows, because, in her words, "you can't help who you fall in love with". What a crock of bullshit that was!

I hadn't seen my mother, or step-father, since the day I left Phoenix for college three years before. But even with our strained relationship, there was no way on earth that I could sentence my mother, my only surviving relative, and her husband, to death.

Why was this happening to me?

I woke up this morning a college student with my whole future in front of me. And now, now I had to buy the lives of not only my loved ones, but also a group of people that I didn't even know, with my own life. How unfair was that?

The weight of the situation was almost too much to bear, and I sat down on the ground.

"Why is this happening to me?" I cried. "I'm not this special person you think I am."

"No one here thinks you're all that special either," the black haired girl, whose name I think was Alice, said.

I didn't know what her problem was, but she had been sneering—and I think, snarling-at me ever since the first time Jasper had spoken to me.

"Then just let me go," I pleaded.

"I think we can arrange that. Shall we bury you with the other two?" she asked, advancing on me.

"Mary Alice Brandon Cullen!" Esme yelled. "Don't you dare-"

But before Esme could even finish her sentence, Jasper jumped in front of me, crouched low with a forewarning growl.

"Don't make me hurt you Alice," Jasper warned.

"You're only protecting her because of what Chelsea did to you!" Alice yelled. "If we could find a way to get rid of her, then-then…"

"Then what Alice?" a tall, beautiful blond woman asked. "I'll tell you what, Aro will come after us."

Alice waved away the blond haired woman's concerns. "He'll forget all about her!"

"Alice, just back away," Jasper said.

Carlisle clamped a hand on Alice's shoulder. "No one is getting rid of anyone. And, I'm ashamed of you Alice Cullen."

"But Carlisle-"

"I don't want to hear your whining. Now go help your brothers work out the logistics for the funeral and cover story." Carlisle knelt down in front of me. "Bella, I know that this is all very confusing for you, and I promise that we will answer any questions that you may have, but first we're going to take you to our home now. I'm sure that you must be hungry."

My stomach growled, answering for me. "A little."

Esme extended her hand and helped me to my feet. She draped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a motherly squeeze. "What would you like for dinner darling?"

"You cook?" I asked. I knew of course that vampires existed off of blood, but I didn't know if they could eat human food as well.

"Heavens no dear, I haven't cooked in over a hundred years. We'll order carry out from wherever you want, and tomorrow we'll go food shopping."

She made food shopping sound like an adventure at Disney World, but I guess if you hadn't cooked in a hundred or more years, then a trip to the grocery store would be an adventure.

"We live about three miles north of here," the boy with wild reddish hair said. "And oh, by the way, my name's Edward." He grinned at me with a crooked smile. "I can carry you, if you want."

I smiled back at him and accepted his proffered hand. I expected a hearty shake, but was surprised when he held my hand tenderly within his own frigid palm, before kissing the back of it. His soft, although cold, lips sent shivers up my arm.

Had we been anywhere else besides standing in the middle of the meadow amidst death and destruction, and had I'd not been feeling a type of tugging sensation whenever Jasper was near me, I would have attempted to flirt with him. He was cute in a puppy sort of way, and I wanted to run my fingers through his hair and scratch the back of his head like I used to do to my dog when I was little.

Jasper grabbed our joined hands and pulled them apart. "You aren't carrying her anywhere."

"Bro, what is your problem?" Edward asked.

"Right now, you are my problem," Jasper said and shoved Edward. "I can feel what you're thinking, so cut it out."

_What the hell did that mean? _I wondered. _How can someone feel what another person is thinking?_

"I was just trying to be nice." Edward shoved him right back.

"Boys, stop this!" Esme chastised.

I didn't know what was going on between Jasper and Edward, but I didn't want to be caught in the middle—literally-of any kind of sibling argument. Since I was standing between the two, and Jasper was still holding my hand, I was nearly knocked down when he shoved Edward. "Hey guys-"

"That was not all it was, and you know it!"

"What does it matter to you what I'm _feeling_?" Edward asked. "You don't even _like_ her!"

"You two, cut it out!" Carlisle bellowed, stepping between the two brothers. He pulled me away from Jasper and laid a hand on each of their chest. "Bella is human. Did you forget the fact that one wrong move and you could kill her?"

"Sorry," they both mumbled.

"Jasper, take Bella up to the house and order her food," Esme said. "We'll finish cleaning up here and be up there momentarily. Edward, I'll need your help here."

"You'll have to either walk, or I can carry you." Jasper said.

"Are you as fast as that Demetri guy?"

"Faster."

"I think I'll walk then," I said, stopping once again to pick up my back pack.

"Fine, whatever," he said, and turned and stalked off.

Moody much? How in the world was I supposed to learn everything that this Aro guy wanted me to learn if my teacher was this freaking emo?

I took my time picking my way through the forest behind Jasper. He certainly didn't make the trip easy, yelling at me when I tripped over tree roots, branches and when I jumped at the sight of insects and wood mice. I figured that we were about half way to the house when the rain decided that it could no longer hold off, and fat drops of water poured down on us.

"Let's go Bella!" Jasper barked at me. "We still have more than a mile to go!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" I yelled back.

"Well that's not good enough!" He stomped back toward me and grabbed my arm. "Get on my back, I'm carrying you."

"Let go of me you fucking bastard!" I screamed and fought against the hold he had on me. I beat against his chest and stopped when I realized that it was hurting me more than him. In fact, he felt like a rock wall and my blows did nothing but bounce off of his hard skin. "What the hell are you made out of, concrete?"

"Yeah, something like that," he said smugly, and tossed me on his back before taking off.

I hung onto him for dear life as we ran through the forest, and I screamed like a banshee when I thought we were about to be decapitated by a low lying tree branch. Jasper just laughed manically at me, and ran faster.

The house reminded me of Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home that I had seen on one of the many road trips I had taken with my mother. It had the same style of cantilevered balconies and terraces, but instead of the stream and waterfall running under the house, it ran along the side of the house.

Jasper deposited me on the front steps, dropping me on my butt like a sack of potatoes.

I picked up a landscaping rock and hurled it at his head. On a good day my aim was pretty good, but after just being ran through the woods like I was strapped on the back of a jet, I was seeing double. "I hate you!" I screamed.

He caught the errantly thrown rock and crushed it in his hand, letting the dust fly in the wind. "Good, 'cause I hate you too!"

The front door opened and Esme appeared. "What took you two so long?"

"Don't ask," Jasper snapped, and brushed past her.

"Lord help us when he's in a mood like this," Esme mumbled. "I swear he's worse than some old lady wearing a tight girdle." She picked me up off the porch and supported my weight when I swayed. "Come on in the house dear, I'm sure you've got a million questions to ask us."

She was right, I had so many unanswered questions about what had happened earlier, what was going to happen and why was it happening to me, that I didn't even know where to begin. I figured that as soon as I could get a moment alone, I would make a list of my questions.

Charlie used to say that I was OCD about keeping things orderly, but to me it was just second nature. I had been so used to Renee living such a disorganized life, that when I finally moved out on my own to go to college, I had vowed to always keep things in their place and rightful order. Organizing my thoughts and things around me helped me focus and settled my mind.

"You'll have to forgive us Bella, but at the moment we really don't have a spare bedroom for you. Peter and Char occupy our guest wing of the house when they're in town, and what would be the other spare bedroom is currently being used for storage."

I shrugged. "I'm okay with the sofa."

Esme gasped. "Oh dear, no, we would never permit you to sleep on the sofa!"

I looked down at the dirty clothes I was wearing and noticed that all of their furniture was covered in white plush fabric. She was right, I couldn't sleep on the sofa. "Oh, well the floor is okay too."

"The floor?" Alice asked, laughing. "Where did you grow up, off the side of some mountain? Who sleeps on the floor?"

"Be nice Alice," Esme scolded.

"Well, I mean…I thought that since I'm all dirty, and I don't have any clothes…" I could feel myself blushing and just decided to shut up.

"Honey, what I should have said is that you'll have to stay in Jasper's room until I can clean out the guest room and order you a new bed."

"B-but I-I can't d-do that. Won't he need his own bed, or coffin, or whatever it is that you guys sleep in?"

Edward stood in the doorway of the living room, freshly showered and grinning at me. "We don't sleep, silly Bella." He reached out and tugged on a lock of my hair, twirling it around his finger.

"Not at all?" I asked, confused. Apparently I had more questions than I realized.

"Nope, not at all," he said, still grinning at me as Esme escorted me out of the room.

"Alice, go get Bella something to wear, probably something of Char's closet. I think they're about the same size. And get something decent too!" Esme called out after her before turning me towards the stairs. "I want you to clean up first and by the time you finish, your pizza should be here. That is okay, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Pizza's cool."

"Oh good, I've never ordered food before, so it was quite the experience." She knocked on a set of large double doors and pushed open the door without waiting for a response. I followed Esme into the room, and we stood in the threshold of the doorway, looking at the disaster of a room.

Clothes, books, shoes, DVD's, magazines and anything else you could imagine were thrown carelessly all over the place. The bathroom door opened and Jasper came out, towel hung low over his hips.

"Jasper Hale Whitlock, when are you going to clean up this mess?"

He snatched the towel off of his head that he was using to dry his hair. "Dammit mom, I'm not even dressed yet!"

I was too stunned to speak, and I imagined that I was standing there with my mouth open, looking like I was trying to catch flies.

He was, without a doubt, the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

Droplets of water ran down his shoulders and over his well defined pectoral muscles. He had a six pack-sex pack-of abs that ended in that cut V shape that the guys at school work out for hours to develop. I could only guess what was behind the towel, and it made me damn near choke thinking about it.

But the one thing that caught my attention wasn't how beautifully toned and muscular he was, but the fact that on top of all that muscle, he was covered in scars. Half moon crescent shaped scars that looked like bite marks peppered his chest, arms and abs. It looked like he had wrangled with wild animals, over and over again, and yet, he had been the victor.

He was, simply put, magnificent.

I wanted to reach out and touch each scar and hear the story behind them. He didn't seem to mind me staring, and cocky bastard that he was, turned toward the light so that I could get a better look. I turned away, trying not to blush.

"You do not live in a pig sty mister! I want this room picked up and cleaned immediately!"Esme said, picking up clothes and shoes.

He tossed the towel he was using to dry his hair with onto the bed and ran a hand through his curly brownish blond mop of hair. "Yeah, sure mom. Can I get dressed now, or am I going to give Bella here a peep show?"

_Peep show, ticket for one please._

I no longer cared about him seeing me blush, I had to look.

Esme shoved the pile of clothes at him. "Come on Bella, you can use my bathroom until this barnyard is clean."

She had to nudge me to get me going, and I was so busy looking at what I could see of Jasper's thighs, that I collided with the corner of the door on my way out. I heard him laughing behind me as I slammed the door. We had barely made it down the hallway when Edward caught up with us.

"Hey Bells, I can call you Bells, can't I? You can stay in my bedroom, it's always clean," Edward said eagerly, almost too eagerly and tugged on my hair again.

Before I could even think of a reply, Jasper's door opened and he strode down the hallway toward me. He had thrown on a pair of faded jeans that hung way past his navel and showcased more of his happy trail.

I was fucking mesmerized.

I think I drooled a little.

He took a deep breath and sniffed my hair. "Don't touch her hair again," he said to Edward.

Without a word to me, he took my hand and yanked me away from his brother, leading me through his bedroom and into his bathroom. Next, he shoved a towel, a pile of clothes, soap and shampoo into my arms. "I always keep the bathroom clean," he said and closed the door in my face.

**XXXXXX**

I sat cross legged on the cold black polished tile floor of the bathroom preparing my list of questions. While showering in the huge, two person shower, it occurred to me that I only had thirteen days left to live on this earth. Technically, after this transformation thing that Aro had mentioned, I would still be alive, just not human. I wondered whether or not I would get to do all of the things that I had dreamed about doing.

I had never been out of the country before, I had never been scuba diving, sky diving, or driven really fast on an open road. Because I had always been the responsible one, I had never been dancing at a club, or even tasted alcohol. I had had only one boyfriend in my life, and that was in the fifth grade! I dated every now and then, but those dates had not turned into anything serious when the guy realized that I wasn't some cheap and easy floozy.

I had never been to the top of the Empire State building, the Eiffel Tower, or even been to a Broadway play. When I was little, I had always dreamed of visiting the Galapagos Islands and seeing the centuries old turtles. I wanted to go to Space Camp, ski the Swiss Alps and work on a dude ranch driving cattle across the open plains.

I was twenty years old, and my life was ending.

I didn't want to become the monster that I had been damned to turn into, but really, what choice did I have. I wiped the tears away as I scribbled my notes down in my field notebook. There was no use in crying over something that I couldn't change, right?

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Bella," Jasper said. "Esme said your food is getting cold."

"I'll be out in a second."

I washed my face again and ran a brush through my damp curls. There was no use in trying to tame the wild mess, and honestly I didn't care. I wasn't trying to impress anyone anyway.

I found my way down the stairs and followed the sound of voices to the dining room. Assembled around a large rectangular table were nine vampires—apparently Eleazar opted out of this family moment- and four large pizzas. Esme grinned at me and motioned for me sit down in the vacant spot beside Jasper.

"Let's see, there's pepperoni, vegetable, chicken and Italian sausage. We figured that you would want a variety to choose from. There's also soda if you want, but we only ordered Dr. Pepper. Rose said that that was what some of her classmates used to drink. Is this okay?"

"It's perfect Esme, thank you." I devoured the first two slices before I realized that nine pairs of eyes were watching my every move. "I guess you guys don't eat either."

"We're on more of a liquid diet of sorts," Carlisle said, smiling. "I guess now is a better time than any to answer your questions, but first, perhaps we should introduce ourselves to you."

Each person took a few minutes to tell me their names and a little bit about themselves, including which among them had special gifts and how they worked.

When it came time for me to speak, I pulled out my list and we spent the next few hours discussing the finer points of Vampirism, the transformation, feeding from animals verses feeding from humans and who the Volturi were.

"What will happen to Jessica and Mike?" I asked, scared to hear the answer.

Carlisle and Jasper shared a look before he answered. "We have made arrangements to stage your deaths."

I knew that this was coming. I knew that there would have to be some sort of explanation as to why three college students suddenly disappeared. But it wasn't just that simple anymore.

"I can't die right away," I said.

"Honey," Esme said, taking my hand. "You know that we don't have a choice."

"I know that," I said. "But there are things that I want to do, things that I must do as a human first."

"Bella-"

"No Carlisle, you just can't expect me to just drop everything because some power hungry vampire wants something I have. I am a person, and I matter too!" I said, angrily pounding my fist on the table.

"Of course you matter honey," Esme said.

"Calm down Bella," Jasper said.

As soon as he said it, I felt calm and practically sedated.

"Whatever it was that you just did to me, cut it out," I said calmly to him despite the fact that I wanted to yell and scream it at him.

"Scale it back some Jasper," Carlisle instructed. "I guess we should have consulted you on your final wishes Bella, but we only have thirteen days before you have to be transformed."

I pulled out my second list, and passed it to him.

"I have a list of things that I need to do, and I believe that most of them can be completed in thirteen days."

He passed the list to Jasper without even looking at it. "Jasper is your mate Bella, and he will have the final say on your list."

"What does he have to do with anything?" I asked.

"As your mate, he is responsible for ensuring your safety and your health. You are to subject to his headship, and will be expected to fall in line with his wishes."

"Wait a second; in the meadow you said that he was more like my protector, a bodyguard. Now you're saying that like he's my husband or something."

Alice snorted in disgust and Rose laughed.

"It's all a part of being mated dear," Esme said.

"And you can thank Chelsea for that," Peter said smiling.

"Bella, remember in the meadow when Chelsea touched you?" Eleazar asked, joining the group at the table.

I nodded. "Yeah, it felt like she squeezed my heart or something when she did it."

"Chelsea is gifted with the ability to read the ties between people. She can strengthen or loosen those ties at Aro's insistence," Eleazar said. "Her gift normally works in a mental capacity, but with you, because your shield was fluxuating so erratically, she had to take a guess, and actually touch you at the exact moment that your shield was down in order for it to work."

"So not only do I have to become a vampire, but now I have to be joined at the hip to _you_?"

"Believe me, I'm not happy about this at all, but it's only for thirteen months," Jasper said. "After that, you go to Volterra, and the mating bond will be loosened."

"If you're like my husband, then do I get like your credit card and a shiny new car or something?" I joked.

"All of your needs will be taken care of," Carlisle said in a serious tone.

"There's no point in doing any of this stuff," Jasper said, tossing my list back at me without even reading it. "We need to go ahead with the transformation so that I can start training you."

His heartless attitude toward my list angered me. I didn't know what came over me, but I jumped up from the table, knocking the chair over backward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Don't you fucking disregard my life like it means nothing more than that piece of paper! The one thing that I must do is see my mother before I die and I will not be denied that. Do you understand me?"

Before I could take the next breath, Jasper had one hand around my throat, and the other arm holding me, my back against his chest. Even though he was holding me in an iron clad grip, he wasn't really hurting me.

"Jasper!" Carlisle shouted, jumping up. "Let her go!"

"Hey man, calm down," Emmett said, moving into position as if he were waiting for the right moment to rescue me.

"Major," Peter said. "You don't want to do this."

"Stand down everyone, this is between me and my _mate_," he said softly, lips close to my ear, as he backed away from everyone. "Now let me tell you something wifey, my orders are to be followed at all times. If there's something you need, you ask me first and I will consider it. My only goal in all of this is to deliver you to Aro at the end of thirteen months, in control of your gift and ready to act as a member of his Guard. Everything else is inconsequential. Do we understand each other?"

I said nothing.

"Answer me dammit!"

"Yes," I said.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, I understand," I cried out.

He released me and stepped back, running his hands through his hair. I cowered in the corner, embarrassed by what had just happened and ashamed that I was afraid of him. At the moment I was no longer bold enough to challenge him.

"Leave us."

"Jasper -"

"GET OUT," he ordered, never taking his eyes off of me.

The room cleared within seconds. He pulled two chairs out, sat in one and indicated that I was to sit in the other. I expected him to force me into the chair when I refused, but he didn't, and I remained huddled in the corner cautiously watching him.

He was breathing hard, and it looked like he was trying to get his anger under control before speaking.

"I want to try to explain something to you Bella."

I nodded.

"The mating bond is the strongest bond there is between two individuals. From the moment Chelsea mated us, everything you do and say has a heavier significance to it than normal. I apologize for scaring you, but you publicly challenged my authority as your mate, and that is not acceptable."

He took a deep breath. "The vampire mind is designed to calculate scenarios and weigh outcomes. I cannot logically justify a reason to waste two weeks chasing human dreams and fantasies when you have years' worth of training ahead of you that we have to pack into thirteen months. And guessing from what I've seen of your personality, your transformation will not be a walk in the park."

He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and pointed at the scars. "I have a lot of experience in dealin' with newborns, so I know what I'm talkin' about when I say that what we're up against ain't gonna be easy."

"Can I speak now?"

"You don't have to ask permission to speak Bella."

I cleared my throat. "Well I don't know how this mating thing or the transformation thing works, and all I really know is that after you bite me, I will never, ever see my mother again. The last time I saw her, we had a huge argument, and even though I call her once every month or so, we've never really made up. I can't die knowing that there's bad blood between us."

He sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and running his hands through his hair. His hard mask of fury and control was gone. I didn't know why I had a strong desire to touch him, to ease his burdens and to reassure him that I would cooperate with him.

He didn't ask for this just as I had not. We were just two innocent people dealt a really crappy hand. But as soon as I moved to touch him, the mask slipped back in place and the tenderness was gone.

There was a knock on the open dining room door.

"Jasper, these things are really not too far-fetched," Rose said, coming back into the room. "What would be so wrong with helping her accomplish some of these?"

"Yeah, if I had a chance, I would have liked to say goodbye to my mother," Edward said, scanning the list that Rose had passed to him.

"And a person only turns twenty-one, once. Surly we can take her out to a club for drinks and dancing," Emmett said.

"Major," Peter said. "I think that you should really consider allowing her to do this. We can each take an item and help her if you don't want to participate."

I smiled through the tears that I was fighting back. I had never had a family before, and not even really close friends, but these people, these vampires, were willing to jump in and help me accomplish the items on my list.

"Bella's Bucket List," Char said, reading the title of my list. "I like the way that sounds, and I wanna help you do number one."

Jasper accepted the list and scanned it. "Fine, I will permit some of these things, but we aren't going to Paris and a seat on the next flight of the space shuttle is out of the question."

**XXXXX**

I never really liked the rain much, but as I stood staring down at the two small marble headstones, I noticed that the weather matched my situation; gloomy, dark and cold.

This was the number one thing to do on my list, and Char had been the sister and friend that I never had in helping me deal with the emotions of burying my classmates. She squeezed my hand and gave me a half smile for encouragement. It was her idea to have the headstones set up at the edge of the meadow as a tribute to their deaths, and as a means to give me closure.

Aro had been right, Jessica and Mike were not my friends, but that didn't mean that their lives meant any less to me. I would have gladly offered up my own existence in place of their lives had I the chance to plead my case to him.

But as it stood, the only thing that I could do was to make sure their deaths didn't appear to be suspicious, and provide a means for what would be left of their bodies to be returned to their families for a proper burial. I was determined that they would not be buried in some potter's field under an unmarked mound of dirt, or carelessly discarded in the forest. No one deserved that.

It was all very simple. Under the cover of darkness, Jasper, Peter and Emmett snuck back to the campsite where Mike, Jessica and I had separated from our classmates. Peter took Mike's car, and drove it down the interstate at a hundred miles an hour. He made it look like Mike had lost control of the car and drove it into a tree.

Jasper and Emmett were waiting along the interstate with the bodies at the exact place where the crash would be and right before the car burst into flames, they planted the bodies in the car. Edward and Rose made sure that the flames destroyed enough of the wreckage so that what remained could only be identified through dental records.

We couldn't leave two, intact bloodless bodies for the paramedics to find. There would be too many questions on why there was no evidence of blood, and yet their bodies contained none at all.

Gruesome, yes; but what else could we do?

"Hey guys," Jasper said. "We need to be going."

The one thing that I had learned about the Cullen family was that they were very resourceful. And because they didn't sleep, they had time to do all sorts of things. I had been in their care for less than twenty four hours, and while I had tried to catch a few hours of sleep, they had already mapped out a way to accomplish many of the things on my list.

Jasper, Emmett, Rose and I were headed to the airport in Seattle to catch a flight to New York. My mother was on the road with Phil, who was currently on loan from his regular baseball team in Phoenix, and playing with another minor league team, the Batavia Muckdogs, in the middle of nowhere, Batavia, New York.

This trip would knock two things off of my list, reconciling with my mother, and going to the top of the Empire State Building. While we were gone, Peter, Char and Edward would be setting up my next adventures.

Alice sneered at me and made kissing noises. "Have fun making up with mommy dearest."

"You know, for someone that's no taller than a Harfoot hobbit, you sure do have a nasty attitude," I said.

Emmett and Peter snorted with laughter.

"I don't know who you think you are human, but you'd better watch your back." Alice threatened, pushing her face into mine.

I looked down at her, and laughed in her face. "Or what, you're gonna get on a ladder and try to be taller than me?"

I felt a gust of wind, and suddenly I was standing about five feet away from my original location.

"You two cut it out," Jasper said, releasing me. "And Alice, if you try to hit her again, I'm gonna rip the heels off of all of those Lubbock shoes of yours."

"Louboutins! They're Christian Lou-bout-ins, and you'd better stay out of my shoe closet Jasper Whitlock!" she screamed and stomped off.

"Stop antagonizing her Bella," Jasper said, looking down at me with a disapproving glare.

"Me? She started it first," I argued. "And I don't get why she hates me in the first place, I didn't do nuthin' to her! I didn't even ask to be here dammit!"

"It doesn't matter if you did or didn't do anything to her. Alice can be childish and petty, just don't stoop to her level," Rose said. She draped an arm around my shoulders. "And none of us asked for this, but we do have to try to make the most of it hun."

Jasper stiffened, his head perked up sniffing the wind. Emmett, Peter and the others were doing likewise.

"I'll take her," Edward said.

"Take me where?" I asked.

"No, not you," Jasper said, holding up a hand to stop him. "Rose, you and Char take Bella back to the house."

"What's going on? And if this involves running at warp speed through the forest, you can forget it. I ain't doing that again," I said. I hated moving that fast, it made me dizzy and it scared the crap out of me.

"C'mon honey, we'll go a little slower than normal," Char said, beckoning for me to follow her.

I backed away from them. "I know something's wrong by the way you're acting. What is it? Is it Aro? Is he coming back to renege on his deal? What about my mother? You promised me that I could see my mother first!"

"Bella, get back to the house. Now!" Jasper said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward Rose.

Before I went off to college, Renee thought that it was best if I learned how to defend myself, and she enrolled us both in a self defense class at the local YWCA. The first thing that the instructor told us was that if we were being attacked, scream like the world was ending.

I didn't like the way Jasper was looking at me, and when he grabbed me, I screamed like I was being murdered. My reaction must have shocked him, because his grip loosened. I took advantage of the situation by twisting my wrist up and then down; slipping out of his hold. Who knew that a simple human self defense move would work on a supernatural, undead being?

If I thought he was looking at me funky before, he was really giving me the stink eye now.

Jasper was M-A-D, mad.

And stupid me, I took off running.

I got maybe three steps away before he had me locked in his embrace again.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he demanded, yanking me backwards and into his chest.

"Let me go you fucking emo dickhead!" I screamed, struggling against him.

"Bella!"

I knew the sound of that voice anywhere. After all, I had spent nearly every summer hanging out with him and his pack of oversized friends who ate like ravenous wolves and ran around in the forest with no shirts on.

"Jake! JAKE! Help me! HELP ME PLEASE!"

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**A/N: Ok, so let me know what you think. What's going to happen when the wolves see human Bella fighting with the vamps? Reviews make me write faster. **

**I want to thank all of you for your well wishes on my move and new job. I didn't realize how much junk I had until I started pulling it out of the closet! LOL The big move will be happening in two weeks, so I am furiously typing away until the Uhual pulls up!**


	5. Chapter 5

**tHiRtEeN**

**Chapter 5**

**The big move is happening this week, and I wanted to give my supa dupa readers a chapter before the Uhaul pulls up! I hope you like it!**

**I have the best beta's in the world! Thanks JamesRamsey and Cullen818. You guys have been so supportive and encouraging!**

**SM owns it!**

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I should have known that it wouldn't be this simple, and since I had known her, nothing ever was. I secretly enjoyed the fact that Bella was strong minded and very vocal about her wishes, but did the damn girl have to fight with me on every issue?

I picked up on the wolves' stench when they were about a mile from the meadow. There were about four of them in human form, and they were headed right for us.

What the hell were they doing here, and in human form too? What was so important that would make them cross the treaty line? Sure, we were on amicable terms, but wasn't it understood that we still just wouldn't wander onto each other's territory without preamble?

Maybe they had heard about what happened with Bella. But how? We were the only ones who knew about that!

Bella was smart enough to know that something was up, but at the same time she wasn't docile enough to keep her mouth shut and do what I told her. But why would I expect her to, this was the same five foot tall, one hundred and ten pound girl who grabbed me, Major Jasper Whitlock, bad ass vamp extraordinaire, up by my collar and demanded that I acquiesce to her wishes.

As soon as I had grabbed Bella, I saw the pack appear right out of sight at the edge of the forest. I knew that things weren't gonna go right when Bella started screaming like someone was murdering her, and the demon inside of me briefly thought about doing just that to get her to shut the hell up.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I demanded, yanking her backwards and into my chest.

"Let me go you fucking emo dickhead!" she screamed, struggling against me.

"Bella!" Jake yelled, running toward her.

_Oh fuck me, this cannot be happening this way!_

"Jake! JAKE! Help me! HELP ME PLEASE!"

_How the hell did these two know each other?_

"Bella shut up!" I said through clenched teeth, struggling with her. I knew how the situation must look to them; a group of vampires struggling with one lone human usually meant that the human was the meal, and the fact that Bella wouldn't shut up with her screeching wasn't helping matters.

"You said I could go see my mother! I have thirteen days! You-"

"Jasper, they're coming!" Rose said.

"Listen to me! No one is going to take your chance of meeting with your mother away," I said quickly. "But if you don't stop fighting me, Jake is gonna think I'm about to eat you, and they will attack us."

"What do you mean they will attack you? Humans just don't attack vampires, not in real life that is. Carlisle said that stakes, crosses and silver bullets don't work," she said, hands on her hips and looking at me with fury in her eyes.

Were we really about to have this discussion now?

Could she be anymore belligerent than she already was? The next time I saw Chelsea, I was gonna wring her neck for doing this to me.

I didn't have time to explain, and yanked her behind me just as the pack approached.

"Let her go leech!" Jake yelled.

His pack mate Paul was twitching and starting to sweat, a sure sign that he was fighting the need to phase. Paul had a short fuse on his temper, and several times during our training sessions for the battle we had joined forces to fight, he had to be reprimanded by Sam for acting without permission.

"Look Jake, this is not what it looks like," I said, trying to rein in my temper.

"Oh really, 'cause to me it looks like you're about to make a meal out of my friend," Jake said. "Bella, it's okay, they aren't gonna hurt you."

Of course Bella wouldn't stay where I put her, and moved around me to greet Jake.

"Hey Jake, what are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"Yeah, what are you mutts doing on our side of the Treaty line?" Emmett asked, his own temper flaring.

Jake suddenly grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her behind him.

_What the fuck?_

I didn't like the fact that Jake had touched her, and my demon was yelling at me to reclaim my property. Bella was MINE!

Before, my demon wanted nothing to do with Bella, but ever since the mating bond, he was irrevocably linked to her. If Jake was touching her, then he was touching me, and no one touched me.

The reasonable, less volatile side of me argued with the demon, saying that Bella was not my property, and that a calm, simple statement of what was going on was all that was needed to solve this.

Forget that, I was about two seconds from fucking him over if he didn't take his hands off of her.

"Jake, take your hands off of her," I warned.

Jake laughed. _Laughed?_ Did he not know that I would kill him? I would rip his throat out for touching what was mine. I had killed people for lesser offenses.

"Or what? What are you gonna do vamp?" Paul asked, jumping between us and taunting me. "If you touch us, you break the Treaty, and we'll annihilate you and your family."

"What Treaty? What are you talking about Paul?" Bella asked, trying to move away from Jake.

"I can touch her anytime I want, and she's not going anywhere with you," Jake said, clamped a hand over her wrist and yanked her backward, nearly making her fall. Bella yelped in pain and I was hit with her fear and confusion. I snarled, and crouched low, seconds from attacking him.

"Take your fucking hands off of her NOW!" I yelled.

"I think we'll start with blondie over there first," Paul said, pointing at Rose.

With a threat against his mate, Emmett reacted first, grabbed Paul by the throat and threw him nearly across the field. In mid-air Paul exploded into a massive fur ball, and landed with a snarl that shook the earth.

Paul's transformation set off a chain reaction of sorts, and Embry and Quil both phased.

"W-what the f-fuck is that?" Bella asked, stunned and fighting the hold that Jake had on her. She was trying to get away from the snarling wolves. "Let me go, you're hurting me Jake!"

Jake had an even tighter hold on her wrists, and I could almost hear the strain he was putting on her bones. He was sweating, and shaking as if he were about to phase. If he phased with her standing so close to him, Bella wouldn't just be scarred for life, she would be dead.

Jake held up his hand, signaling to his pack to back away. "We're gonna take you back to the rez now Bella. Guys, let's go," he said, and started to back away, dragging Bella with him.

"Who are you, Dr. Dolittle or something?" Bella asked, rooting her feet into the ground. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Easy Major," Peter warned. "Not yet."

"He could kill her if he phases," Edward said. "He's trying to control it, but I don't think he's gonna be able to."

Bella's shield was down and I could feel her…longing? And, then she reached out her hand to me. It was obvious; she knew that she needed to be by my side.

"Jasper!"

My reasonable side spoke up and wanted to warn Jake one last time in order to keep him from phasing so close to her. On the other hand, my demon was about to attack.

"Jake, this is the last time I'm gonna tell you to let her go," I said, trying to control the tremors running through me.

"Fuck off leech, she's coming with me," he said, and pulled on her arm one last time.

I couldn't contain the demon any longer, and I leapt at him just as he phased. In the distance, I heard Carlisle yelling, and I saw Sam running toward us out of the forest. But I paid no attention to them as I angled my body in such a way that knocked Jake backwards, releasing his hold on Bella's wrists.

It felt like the flesh on my back was being ripped from my body when I collided with Jake in his mid-phased state. Our collision caused an awful sound, a thunderous howl of pain from him and a feral snarl from me. I could smell the venom leaking from my gaping wounds, but I paid no attention to the pain as I scooped Bella up off of the ground and ran with her cradled in my arms.

I ran for what seemed like forever, and we had to have been a good thirty or forty miles from the meadow when I finally slowed down. I lost track of where we were because I was in pain and leaking venom like a sieve, and I needed to assess Bella's injuries. She was my first concern. She was shielding, and I couldn't tell if she were hurt or not. Her face was buried in the crook of my arm, and her eyes were screwed shut.

I spotted a grouping of boulders and trees, and fell down to the soft mossy ground beside them, gently laying Bella down.

"Bella, Bella look at me." I pushed the hair off of her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me as I hovered over her. "Are you okay?"

She blinked several times and took a moment to answer. "Yeah, I think so."

"What about your wrists?" I asked, cautiously running my hands up and down her arms. I was afraid to apply any pressure to them just in case they were broke.

She moved her arms, testing her range of motion. "They're sore, that's all. Why are your eyes so black?" She reached up and touched my face.

I released the breath I was holding and rolled off of her to the side, wincing as I lay on my torn flesh. "I'm okay," I lied.

She sat up and brushed the dirt, twigs and leaves off of her. "You look…paler. Is that even possible?"

"I'm fine," I said again.

"Ohmigod! You're bleeding…or leaking!"

"Don't touch me!"

"But Jasper you're-"

I grabbed her hands, pushing them away. "Bella, you can't touch the venom. In large amounts it will begin your transformation."

"What do I do then?"

I shook my head. "There's nothing you can do. The wounds have to fuse back together on their own."

"Is that why your eyes are black, because you're hurt?"

"Yeah, something like that. Get my phone out of my pocket, will ya?" I rolled over onto my uninjured side so that she could get the phone out of my back pocket. "Dial Carlisle's number."

"The service is going in and out."

"Damn," I said. "Try it anyway."

She dialed the number and I heard Carlisle answer, voice going in and out with the fading reception. "Jasper!"

"It's Bella, Carlisle. Jasper's hurt, and it looks bad!"

"Listen Bella, ask…where…are. I think…shielding…can't pick up…your scent."

"Jasper, Jasper! Carlisle wants to know where we are!"

I heard her calling my name, and shaking my good shoulder to rouse me, but it took a moment for me to focus on what she was saying.

"About thirty or forty miles northwest of the meadow."

"Carlisle-"

"…heard…Bella…we're on…way. But…try…stay calm…to keep…shield down or…harder to find you. And stay away…venom!"

Despite Bella's warning for me not to move, I pushed myself up so that I was leaning against one of the large boulders on my good side. She knelt down on the ground beside me, looking at me with those large chocolate eyes of hers. "If I just rest for a while, the wounds will eventually start to close," I said, trying to reassure her.

"Blood helps though, right?" She pulled a Swiss Army knife out of her pocket. "I could go try to catch something. Jake once showed me how to make a rabbit trap."

"No, I don't want you wandering around out there by yourself." I couldn't feel her emotions, but I could read the worried expression on her face. "Don't worry, everything's okay. How do you know him anyway?" I asked her, trying to keep her mind off of my injuries.

"Our fathers were best friends, and I used to spend every summer here in Forks, running around in the woods or playing down at La Push." She seemed to think for a minute. "He's a werewolf, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, what gave it away, his horse sized friends, or the fact that he exploded into fur right before your eyes?" I laughed, and then grimaced.

"Vampires and wolves are enemies," she stated matter of factly. "Jake was my best friend, and now he's gonna hate me."

"I'm sorry Bella."

"It's not your fault," she said softly. "So what was this Treaty that Paul was talking about?"

I sighed, moving a couple of inches to find a more comfortable position, and then explained to her the history of the Treaty and what it currently meant for us.

"So when you bite me, we will be breaking the Treaty, and the wolves will attack."

"Yes, unless Carlisle can get Sam to talk the Tribal Council into letting this be a onetime exception."

"Do you think that they'll make an exception?"

"I dunno Bella. Carlisle will definitely tell them about Aro's threat to your parents, and their goal _is_ to protect human life, but who knows," I added with a shrug.

"Maybe I should talk to the Council."

"I don't think that that would help. Listen, let's just let Carlisle and Eleazar handle it. They will keep us informed of what happens."

"Jasper?"

"Yeah, B?"

"I can help you heal."

"What do mean?"

"Carlisle said last night that human blood is more potent than animal blood. You can drink from me," she said, almost as if she were offering me a Coke or something. Her facial expression belied her tone of voice; I could tell by looking at her that she was feeling an enormous amount of guilt.

"No, absolutely not."

"But you're hurting," she protested. "And we're pretty far out, aren't we?"

"They will find us in time."

"But you're still leaking, and you don't have to take that much. Carlisle said that a little goes a long way."

"No Bella, I'm not drinking from you."

"Why not? Isn't that what a mate is supposed to do, feed their spouse?"

"It's not that simple."

"Why?"

I sighed. Arguing with her was more stressful than giving into the desire that was sparked by her suggestion. She didn't know my history with fighting the bloodlust, and at the moment I was too weak to go into the details of it all. "Because I may take too much and it could kill you."

"I trust you," she said, moving closer to me.

"It's…Bella, no."

She moved closer to me and pulled her hair to one side, exposing the soft creamy skin of her neck. "Please Jasper; it's my fault that you got hurt in the first place."

"No it's not, it just…happened."

"I should have listened to you," she cried, wiping her tears away.

Oh no, not a crying female! Please, someone set me on fire, right the fuck now!

I hated to see females cry, it was the one thing that Alice would use to get me to do what she wanted. Of course, she couldn't make actual tears, but the sniffing and snot sucking sound was the same, dead or undead.

"I agree with that, but at the time you had no idea who Jake was or story of the Treaty," I said, pushing her away and trying to not look at her tears.

Undeterred, she moved over me, straddling my hips and dropping her shield. "Just a little, take just a little."

"Bella…"

I could smell and hear her blood flowing beneath the surface of her skin. The precious venom that I did have, pooled in my mouth in anticipation. I swallowed thickly, trying to will my mind off of the vein in her neck that pulsed in rhythm to her heartbeat. There was no way that she could sit here in my lap, smelling as sweet and tempting as she did, and I be able to resist her.

I slipped my good arm around her tiny waist and pulled her closer. Her scent, like the sweetest honey, swirled around my head and I licked my lips, before guiding her hand to the top of my head.

"This will hurt a little at first, and you'll have to help me concentrate on not taking too much. Just yank on my hair if it gets to be too overwhelming. Okay?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready."

_Dear God, please don't let me kill her._

I couldn't remember the last time I prayed, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to send up a request on Bella's behalf. I knew my soul was damned, but there was still maybe a chance for her.

I took a deep breath as well, and pressed my lips to the side of her neck. I mentally counted to three and sunk my razor sharp teeth into her fragile skin.

I'd killed hundreds, thousands of humans in the century and a half that I had been a vampire, and the first reaction was always the same.

Bella gasped at the pain and she arched her back, instinctively pulling away from the source of discomfort. I waited a moment for her to grow accustomed to the feel of my teeth in her skin.

"Jasper," she whispered when she was ready, urging me on.

Even though she was now projecting her shield again, I tried to send her a tiny bit of lethargy, hoping that some of it would affect her in the off chance that her shield was fluctuating.

It seemed to work, and I began drawing out her blood. With each pull of blood, I could feel the skin on my back and arm fuse and knit back together. Tiny slivers of emotion were coming from her, and I used this as a means to judge how much more I could safely take.

She moaned, and threw off vibes of pain and…lust.

_Lust?_ What the hell?

I dug my teeth deeper into her skin, and using my lips, sucked harder. I was nearly knocked backward with the force of her lust. In my earlier days, I had fed from many humans, but I had never felt such a strong sexual vibe from any of my victims, or any human for that matter. It overwhelmed me, and I couldn't help but magnify the feeling with my own desire for her.

Wait just a fucking minute? I desired her?

This was not what I signed up for!

I was just supposed to change her, and train her. No one ever said anything about me desiring her!

Maybe this is what the mating bond really is, I thought.

Alice and I had been married for, well, a long fucking time. Too long actually, but I never, ever felt desirous of her. Sure, we had sex more times that I could count, and we were damn near band from the family house for humping like rabbits in every room, but I wouldn't call that desire. We were just two horny vamps that didn't need to sleep.

I knew that Alice and I had never _mated_, which, truth be told, made it a helluva a lot easier for me to walk away from our marriage. And marriage and mating were two different things that little nagging voice in the back of my mind argued.

Marriage was a human institution, something that could be ended whenever either party got tired of the other. Mating, however, was a bond that ran much deeper than a civil ceremony and a piece of paper, which was why it was so much harder for Bella to be submissive to me. She didn't feel it the way I did…yet.

Chelsea had to but _look_ at me and I was bonded to Bella. Eleazar said that it was because of her shield that necessitated Bella having to be _touched_ for it to work. But it was also because vamps felt the mating bond stronger than humans, and Bella needed an extra dose of whatever mojo Chelsea put on us.

Even though Bella didn't realize it, but as soon as she was transformed, the mating bond for her would be intensified. And hopefully, _please God_, would make her a little more willing to do what I asked of her.

I got lost within my own vast vampire mind, and suddenly realized Bella was tugging on my hair, signaling that I needed to stop drinking from her.

"Jasper, stop."

Reluctantly, I licked the wound, sealing it close with a very small amount of my venom, but for some reason, I didn't pull my lips away. One of her hands was still buried in my hair, and I felt her fingers on the other hand softly caressing the nape of my neck. I closed my eyes and relaxed, breathing in her scent.

The realization that I had in fact controlled my blood lust and had not ripped her throat out comforted me. _Could it be because I actually cared about her?_ Now that thought, had me scared, terrified.

"Bella…" I whispered against her throat.

She moved, and with the way she was sitting on my lap, plus the fact that I had just tasted the sweetest blood to ever cross my lips, I was immediately turned on. Her hesitation suggested that she felt my reaction too.

I expected her to fly off into a rage, screaming that she would never give up her goodies to me. But, she did the exact opposite. She moved again, this time grinding into me.

_Holy fucking cow, I am in so much shit now!_

I could smell her arousal, and feel her heartbeat pick up. The vein in her neck pulsed and the sweet taste of her blood was still fresh on the tip of my tongue.

I grabbed her hips and guided her movements over my denim clad dick, rocking her back and forth while I licked and nuzzled her throat. She was yanking on my hair in earnest now, and the harder she pulled, the more it turned me on.

I could feel her rock hard nipples rubbing against my chest through the cotton of her shirt. If they were that hard now, I wondered what they would be like in my mouth.

I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to suck her dry and fuck her at the same time.

And I hadn't even kissed her yet!

Our lust was swirling around us, and if we didn't stop, I would be in danger of jizzing in my pants. Now that was something I hadn't done since I was fifteen.

"Oh God," Bella moaned. "So…close…"

I showered her in a double shot of lust and she came, screaming out my name and nearly ripping my hair out at the roots—at least that was what it felt like.

"Jasper!"

I heard my name being screamed again, but it wasn't from Bella.

I barely had enough time to toss Bella to the side before Alice attacked her from behind.

**XXXXX**

It had taken quite a bit to subdue Alice, and neither of us escaped without a few new battle scars. But when I was finally free of the wench, I found Bella lying unconscious and bleeding from a wound on her forehead. Apparently she had struck her head against a rock when I threw her out of Alice's path.

I paced the floor in the hallway outside of my bedroom door while I waited on Carlisle to finish examining Bella. Thoughts of what we were doing before Alice attacked replayed in my mind.

It was never supposed to be like this. I was not supposed to care for Bella at all. And I damn sure wasn't supposed to be attracted to her. I had a job to do, and anything else was just a distraction.

Bella was a distraction that could get us all killed. I needed to refocus my attention on transforming her and then training her. The sooner she was ready to face Aro, the better.

"What are you doing?"

I turned to face Alice. "What do you want Alice?"

"Don't tell me that you're waiting outside of your own bedroom door for that piece of trash to wake up."

_Calm Jasper, stay calm, _I reminded myself. I refused to answer, and turned my back on her, gazing out of the window at the end of the hallway.

"You are, aren't you?" She moved to stand beside me, laying her hand on my shoulder. "That child is a distraction that is going to get us all killed! There's no way that she can learn everything that she will need to know in thirteen months with you two humping each other behind every tree. And then who do you think Aro will come after? Us!"

I knocked her hand away. "You don't know what you're talking about Alice."

"Really? I may not be able to See everything when it comes to her, but some things are just plain obvious."

"Yeah, like your jealousy."

"Jealous, of what?" She laughed out loud. "She looks like some poor homeless mouse looking for a wedge of cheese."

"Shut up Alice," I said, moving away from her.

She followed me. "She can't love you like I can, and she can't give you what you need."

"Well you had fifty years to give me what I needed, and you still didn't get it right." She raised her hand to hit me, but I caught her fist in my hand. "Stay away from Bella, Alice."

"Or what?"

My bedroom door opened and Esme stepped out. "You can go in now Jasper."

I shoved Alice backwards. "You don't want to find out, trust me."

"Why are you using a stethoscope?" Bella asked in a soft, weak voice. "You can probably hear my heart better without one."

Carlisle was sitting on the side of the bed, stethoscope hooked around his neck. I had one time asked him the exact same thing.

"It would look a little suspicious at the hospital if I didn't use one dear," he said, dropping it in his black doctor's bag. "Force of habit I guess, since you know all of our secrets."

"Jasper," Bella said smiling, and reached out for me.

I squeezed her hand and sat down on the opposite side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she said.

"Carlisle?" I asked.

I noticed how small and fragile she looked lying in the middle of my king size bed, and even though I did it to save her life, it sickened me to know that I had thrown her tiny body through the air.

"She's fine Jasper, but she'll need to rest for a while." Her stomach growled. "And she'll need to eat soon."

"Working on it," Esme called out from the kitchen below.

"We missed the flight," Bella said.

"Rose is rescheduling everything."

"I'll leave you two to talk," Carlisle said, packing up his bag. "Remember, no excitement for at least twenty-four hours."

I waited for Carlisle to leave before speaking. "Bella, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Look, what happened out there was a mistake. You know that, I know that. My sole focus needs to be your transformation and your training, and I don't need the distraction that comes with dealing with your emotions and shit."

"My emotions and shit?" she asked, flinging back the bed covers and getting up. "You think I'm a distraction?"

Bella was unconscious when I brought her up to my bedroom. So who the hell redressed her in my blue button down shirt? There was a whole expanse of skin from where the hem of the shirt ended to her toes that was begging for me to lick, suck and worship. Staring at her perfectly manicured toes and beautiful sculpted legs, I damn near lost the courage to say what I had planned.

_Damn Rose!_ I was gonna strangle her when I saw her again.

I took a deep breath and angled my body away from her so that she couldn't see the happy dance that was going on in my pants.

"I know that I exude a certain amount of sex appeal, and sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially to such a young virginal human as yourself. Hey, I get that. But I think we need to keep our relationship strictly platonic in order for us to accomplish everything that Aro wants. Can you understand what I'm saying, and perhaps keep your lustful thoughts and fantasies about me to a minimum?"

She turned those huge chocolate eyes on me and I damn near fell to the floor at her feet to beg for her forgiveness for what I said. I meant none of it, and what I really should have said was that I was irresistibly drawn to her in more ways than one, and that I wished Alice hadn't interrupted us so that I could have shown her just how much I was attracted to her, and perhaps we could pick up where we left off after she ate?

She picked up the brass apple paperweight on my desk and tossed it back and forth in her hands.

"So let me get this straight, because you're such a sexy vampire, and because I'm such a simple minded virginal human with too many _emotions and shit_ to deal with, you would appreciate it if I just kept my sex fantasies about you to myself?"

I swear to fucking God that the way she said the words _sex fantasies_ was enough to make me cum standing up. I swallowed the venom in my mouth before I choked on it.

I turned away from her again. "Yeah, I think that's about right."

"GET. OUT!" she screamed, and threw the brass apple at me. Had I been human, the damn thing would have cracked my skull.

But as it was, I caught it easily and set it down on the bedside table. "Now Bella, there's no need to get upset."

"I said get out!" she said, pointing at the door.

"But this is my room."

"Fine!"

She stomped around picking up what clothes she did have and began shoving them into her back pack.

"Bella-"

"Don't you fucking talk to me!"

She flung both doors open, and they crashed into the walls.

I heard her stomping down the hallway and then she stopped, knocking on another door.

Oh no, not him! Please Bella, anyone besides him.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he asked.

As if he didn't know. As if he hadn't, along with the rest of the entire fucking house, heard what was wrong. I could practically hear him grinning, and Alice cackling like the fucking demented witch she was.

"Can I share your room for a while-just until Esme can clear out the guest bedroom for me? I'm fine with the sofa or something, anything really."

I heard the door open further and he took a step back.

"You can stay in my room as long as you need Bella, and I would never allow such a beautiful girl to sleep on my sofa. You are more than welcomed to share my bed."

"Thanks Edward, you're so sweet."

Ah fuck me, I am so stupid!

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**A/N: Okay, so what do you think? Reviews make me write faster, so leave me some good lovin'!**

**For those reading To Keep You Safe, I have not abandoned the story, I've just been in a funk on where to go with it. I swear that I am trying to write the next chapter, so please be patient!**

**JPOV**


	6. Chapter 6

**tHiRtEen**

**Chapter 6**

**A great big thank you to all of my readers for the response to this fic. I heart you all for supporting me! For those of you reading my other fic, To Keep You Safe, you know that Real Life has been kicking my hiney. Things have begun to slow down now, so I'm trying my best to get back on a regular writing/updating schedule. Hang in there with me!**

**Thanks to my two badass beta's Cullen818 and JamesRamsey! You guys rock!**

**SM owns it!**

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**BPOV**

_My_ sex fantasies? Was he fucking insane? Because if I recall correctly, he was the one with his arms wrapped around me, moving me over his rock hard dick and moaning into my neck! Who the hell did he think he was? I should have left him to fucking leak to death!

Okay, so maybe that was a little bit dramatic; there was no way that I could ever let him leak to death. It was hard to explain, but sitting there in the woods watching him in pain was actually causing _me _pain. And, I don't mean pain in the _I-feel-your-pain_ empathetic type way, but in the serious, it felt like the skin on my own back was split open kind of pain. Of course, what I felt wasn't anywhere near as intense as what he must have been feeling, but it was pain nonetheless.

Is this what being mated was all about? Everyone said that the new bond between Jasper and I was a means to keep me safe, for him to protect me and draw us closer for training purposes. But no matter how much I fought against the bond, it felt like so much more. I couldn't even think of a way to describe the 'more', because I had never felt like this before.

I had also never had an orgasm before—at least that was what I thought it was. I felt Jasper doping me up with shot after shot of lust and suddenly it felt like my insides exploded _down_ there. I always thought that when I got the chance to experience something that fabulous, it would be with some one that loved me, and that I loved back, and definitely not fully clothed and under a tree.

_I wonder if I could find a way to make that happen before my change_, I thought. _Probably not. _

Really, it was all irrelevant because Jasper didn't want anything to do with me—sexual or non-sexual-and you know what, that was just fine and dandy with me. There were plenty of other vamps in the house to hang out with besides Jasper and his super sized ego. Like Edward.

Edward and I had spent a considerable amount of time talking the night before, and we discovered that we had quite a bit in common. We had read some of the same books, we listened to some of the same music and we watched some of the same TV shows.

Truthfully, I didn't necessarily want to hang out with and share Edward's room. But besides Alice, he was the only other one not attached to someone else. Plus, I felt very confident that he wouldn't allow Alice to kill me in my sleep.

I still was not completely sure why she was being such a bitch to me, but I knew that it must have to do with something between her and Jasper. Maybe they use to date, and broke up when Jasper realized that he and his ego were just fine in a relationship of their own without her. Or maybe he told her that she was a distraction and that he didn't want to deal with her emotions and shit. And if he did in fact tell her that, and she were in love with him, then I couldn't blame her for being crazier than a shit house rat. But one thing was for certain, if the bitch came at me again, I was gonna light a match to her ass and watch her burn.

I stood in the mirror looking at the half moon, crescent shaped scar on my neck, running a finger over the area.

Edward moved to stand beside me in the mirror. "It's not gonna go away you know."

"I know. It's cold, and hard," I said.

"Selfish bastard," Edward mumbled, turning away.

"Why would you say that?" I asked, meeting his gaze in the mirror when he turned back to me.

"He _fed_ from you, and then he demeaned you in front of the whole house with his _emotions and shit _statement. That was low down, even for Jasper."

"He was hurting Edward, and I really didn't give him a choice in the matter. It was either feed from me, or be in pain." I shrugged and turned away. "As for the way he acted later, well, I don't care. They're just words." As I said it, I didn't mean it. I was embarrassed that the whole house heard what he said, but I would never admit to anyone how deeply hurt I was by it. Somewhere deep inside of me, I thought that what we had shared under that tree was a turning point of sorts and would draw us closer together, not farther apart.

Edward shook his head. "You can't stand there and tell me that someone with as much battle experience, and over all knowledge on how to survive that Jasper has, could be over powered by _you_."

"What's that supposed to mean, I'm a pretty tough chick."

"Yeah, and he's just a bloodlusty bastard, cheating on our diet on the down low," Edward sneered. "I'm sure he would have drained you dry if it weren't for Alice stepping in when she did."

"Stop saying that! And Jasper was very much in control of his blood lust."

"Believe what you want Bella, but it's true." He turned me toward him and caressed my cheek with his fingers. "_I_ would never use you like that. You deserve to be loved, and cherished, and worshiped."

I stepped back out of Edward's reach. Was he crazy? I had only known him for a day or so. Did he really expect me to fall for that load of crap? And not only that, but Jasper was right down the hallway, within hearing distance of the moves he was trying to put on me. It didn't take a genius to know that even though Jasper didn't want me, he wasn't going to just stand by and let Edward move right in.

"Edward, I don't think you should-"

There was a knock, and the door opened before Edward could answer.

It was Ego Vamp.

Edward draped his arm around my shoulders. "You could have waited for someone to answer before just barging in. Bella and I were in the middle of something."

"Edward stop," I warned. Jasper was not my favorite vamp at the moment, but at the same time I felt a strange need to defend him and protect him, and I didn't want Edward antagonizing him.

"You're not staying in here," Jasper said, and began collecting the clothes that I had dropped on the chair and floor. He shoved my backpack into my arms and started stuffing it with the clothes that had fallen on the floor.

"You can't tell me what to do," I said, dropping the backpack to the floor.

Jasper leaned down, and pushed his face right into mine. "You wanna bet?"

"Bella can stay anywhere she wants," Edward said, and stepped in between us. "And, I suggest you get out of my room before I throw you out."

"Stay out of this Edward, this is between Bella and me, and I don't need you interfering," he warned. "Where are your pants?"

I raised the hem of the shirt, showing him the gray cotton shorts that Edward had lent me. Of course they were too big, so we had rolled down the top, folded and tucked it to make them stay up.

"I've got shorts on."

"Pants, put your pants on," he ordered.

"I like the shorts," I countered.

"I don't care; put your pants on now." He shoved my jeans in my face.

"Hey bro, lay off of her," Edward said, pushing Jasper backward. "And didn't I tell you to get out of my room?"

"I'm not going to tell you again Edward, stay out of this," Jasper said. "She is not going to be running around this house without pants on, and she's not going to be staying in this room with you."

"Why, what are you afraid of Whitlock, that she'll see how a real man is supposed to treat her and choose me over you?"

Jasper threw back his head and laughed. "Real man? Who, you? Yeah right, virgin boy. You can't even fuck a girl without killing her."

I didn't expect Edward to react the way he did, but he charged Jasper, knocking him backward and into the wall. The sound of their bodies colliding created an ear splitting thunderous sound, shattering the windows in the room and knocking me backwards with the vibration. I screamed at them to stop, and scrambled back out of the way of them hurling their bodies at each other.

"Jasper! Edward!" Carlisle yelled, running into the room.

"Easy Major, just calm down," Peter said, grabbing Jasper around the waist as he fought to get at Edward.

"Stop fighting me Edward," Emmett said, holding his brother in a similar fashion.

It took a few seconds, but Peter and Emmett finally got the two idiots under control.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Esme demanded angrily, hands on her hips and staring between Jasper and Edward. "I'm down stairs slaving over take out menu selections, trying to find something suitable for my child to eat, and you two are acting like you've lost your damn minds!" She knelt down in front of me and pulled me to my feet. "Are you alright honey?"

"I'm fine Esme."

"I'm ashamed of you Jasper," Esme said. "You're supposed to be protecting her, not acting like a damn fool and putting her life in jeopardy!"

"Mom-"

"And you Edward, stop undermining your brother and knock off the love sick puppy routine, it's pathetic and sad."

"But he started it first!" Edward said.

"Really Edward, how old are you, two or a hundred and nine?" Esme asked. "C'mon Bella, your food should be here in a few minutes."

"Clean this mess up," Carlisle ordered.

"We've got a plane to catch in few hours," Jasper said, kicking broken glass out of his way.

"Then I suggest you better get moving on these repairs."

For the rest of the night and all of the next day Jasper and I danced around each other without saying a word to one another. I could tell that he did not like the new rooming arrangements- I still chose to stay in Edward's room, and I really didn't care what Jasper had to say about it. After the way he had embarrassed me in front of the entire Cullen household, he really had no say as to where I chose to sleep.

Not willing to waste any more time than we already had, Carlisle gave me a clean bill of health, and after the repairs to Edward's room were finished, we set off to Port Angeles where we boarded a small private jet bound for New York-apparently, like American Express, vamp membership had its privileges. There were a few scheduled stops in between to knock a few items off of my list, but our ultimate destination was to get to Renee and for me to settle matters with her.

"Hey baby girl," Emmett said. "I think we can take care of number nine on your list right here."

We were sitting in the lobby of the small private airport in Colorado Springs, waiting on the mechanics to finish servicing the plane. Our pilot had made an emergency landing after discovering that we were leaking fuel.

"How are we gonna do number nine, here?" I asked, looking around.

Number nine on my list was to watch them hunt. I wanted to know what I was getting myself into before I actually got myself into it.

He nodded to a group of trees. "It's gonna be at least another hour before they finish with the plane, and I could always use another snack." He said, rubbing his stomach.

"No, absolutely not," Jasper said. "Someone could see."

"Lighten up Jazz," Rose said. "It's almost dark and they aren't paying attention to us."

"Yeah, we can go around the back. The woods are like a hundred yards from here," Emmett said.

"I'm game," I said, jumping up.

"No, you're a spectator. What we're gonna catch is game," Emmett said tweaking my nose playfully. "But Bells, you'll have to ride on my back. Are you cool with that?"

"This is not a good idea," Jasper said.

"Thanks for asking me Em instead of just throwing me on your back like some vamps do." I said, looking at Jasper and jumped on Emmett's back. "I'll just hold my head down. I don't get as dizzy if I can't actually see the trees coming at me."

It took maybe five seconds to get from the lobby of the airport to the edge of the woods. Emmett slowed down just inside the tree line where he found a large tree stump for me to sit on.

"Okay shortie, you wait here while Rosie and I go wrangle up some grub. I smell a few deer about a mile from here. So I'll go to the east and chase them this way. Rosie, you head south in case they turn and head for the river."

"No," Jasper said, coming into sight. "If you're gonna do this, well then, I'll help. I don't want Bella sitting here alone while you two run off chasing food. I'll go south and you wait here with Bella, Rose."

As soon as the guys disappeared into the woods, Rose nudged me in the side. "I saw the way Jasper was checking you out in your new duds."

As soon as we had gotten to Port Angeles, Rose made Emmett take us by the boutique that she and Char had ordered parts of my wardrobe from. Rose redressed me in the fitting room, including hair and a tiny bit of makeup, and packed up the rest of the clothes to take with us.

"Yeah, he was looking at me cross eyed too."

"He was not looking at you cross eyed. He was looking at you like he wanted to eat you."

"I'm sure he did," I mumbled.

"I don't mean like that, and you know it."

"Look Rose, Jasper has stated quite plainly that he doesn't want to be involved in my emotions and shit. So there's really no need for you, Char or even Esme to get your hopes up about something that's not gonna happen."

"But Bella, we told you why he's acting like this."

Right after the fight between Jasper and Edward, Esme had taken me downstairs to the kitchen for an all-girl pow-wow session.

"_Italian," Esme pronounced with an exaggerate bow, and lifted the lid off of the sliver dome serving plate. "I hope you're okay with spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and cheesecake for dessert." For someone who hadn't cooked in over a hundred years, Esme sure knew her way around a restaurant menu. She was becoming a pro at ordering take out._

"_Oh mom, you're the best cook ever!" I joked._

_Esme grinned at me from ear to ear. She pinched my cheeks and dropped a kiss on my forehead. "Anything for my little Bella boo."_

"_Okay," Char said, sitting down at the kitchen bar beside me. "What are you gonna do about Jasper?"_

"_You mean Emosper?"_

"_Or Jackassper?" Rose said giggling._

"_Girls, be nice," Esme chided._

"_Well?" Char asked._

"_Nothing. I'm not gonna do anything about Egosper."_

"_Nothing?" Esme asked._

"_What do you expect me do to?" I asked, looking up from my dinner. "I've known Jasper all of five minutes it seems, and he's done nothing but order me around, give me a concussion and then insult me."_

_Esme, Char and Rose looked at each other and then at me._

"_Well with the way Alice was acting, a lot more than that went on out there in those woods," Rose said._

_I felt myself blushing and turned away. "Let's not discuss that, he can hear us, right?" _

"_Nah, they all went to Home Depot to get the stuff to do the repairs," Char said._

"_Look honey," Esme said. "I know that it's different with us vamp girls. We understand what the mating bond is about, and sometimes it's still difficult to be submissive without losing your sense of self. But we've known Jasper a really long time, and he's never acted like this with anybody."_

"_Not even with Alice," Rose remarked._

"_Acted like what, and what's going on between those two anyway?" I asked._

"_Jasper is highly emotional," Char said._

_I slapped a palm over my open mouth in a sarcastic manner. "No, not Jasper!"_

"_Listen clown, what I'm trying to say is that because of his gift, Jasper is usually in control of his emotions. When tempers run hot, he calm's them down. When things get too serious, he lightens up the situation. With you, he doesn't know what to do. His emotions are all out of control. He knows that you're bonded, he can feel it, but at the same time, he's fighting it."_

"_And so are you," Rose said._

"_I am not fighting anything," I protested._

"_You're such a bad liar," Esme said. "It's obvious that you're attracted to him."_

_I stared at Esme with an open mouth, she just totally outed me! But I couldn't deny it if I tried._

"_It doesn't matter. I'm sure you all heard what he said to me earlier."_

_They nodded._

"_He was lying," Char said._

"_Through his fangs," Esme countered._

"_It's all a part of his mixed up emotions," Rose said, waving her hands about. "He's gonna act and say things that he wouldn't normally do and say." _

"_So what do I do?"_

"_First, stop fighting the mating bond. You know you feel it," Char said._

"_Second, don't stop being yourself, just tone down the attitude a bit," Rose said._

"_Third, you need to sex yourself up some," Esme said._

"_Wait a minute, I'm not gonna strut around here looking like some sort of vamp groupie. I like my style just the way it is."_

"_Nothing is wrong with your style Bella," Esme said. "Actually, it's a bit refreshing to see a young person not so wrapped up in designer this, or designer that."_

"_Alice," Char coughed-whispered under her breath._

"_That reminds me; you guys never answered me when I asked what was going on between her and Jasper?"_

_Rose shook her head. "That's something that you'll have to ask Jasper."_

"_That bad?" I asked._

"_Ask him," Esme said. "Now, on to your make-over-make-under."_

"_Huh?"_

_Esme snapped her fingers under my nose. "Keep up kid. We're going to put a little salt-n-pepper in your wardrobe."_

"_Yeah, instead of your Gap jeans, we'll put you in ." Rose said. "Instead of Converse's, try out some retro Adidas or something."_

"_And instead of plain tee shirts, you can do vintage band shirts, or soft cotton sweaters with a touch of silk in them," Esme said. "But none of these skinny jeans! We want you to enhance your original style, not just be trendy."_

"_I dunno Esme, I think skinny jeans are okay sometimes," Rose said. "Just not every day."_

"_Skinny jeans or not, absolutely no plaid lumber jack button downs," Char said._

"_Hey, I liked that shirt!" I said, referring to the shirt I was wearing the day they found us in the meadow._

_Char rolled her eyes. "Mind you, this is not to make Jasper more attracted to you, but to give you a mini self esteem boost. 'Cause when you look good, you feel good," Char said._

"_I have twelve days left, when are we gonna do all of this?"_

_They looked at each other again and then smirked._

"_Okay, so forgive us…"_

"_Oh no, I feel a 'but' coming on."_

"_But…we kinda already ordered some stuff," Rose said._

"_What? When? I've known you guys like for a day and you're already treating me like a member of the family, and going out of your way to make me feel comfortable and…and…why?"_

"_Don't take this the wrong way honey," Esme said. "But because we're a family, Chelsea's mating bond kinda affected us too."_

"_So it's fake? Just like what Jasper is feeling," I said, tossing down my fork._

"_Have you not been listening to a word we've been saying?" Char asked. "The bond is not fake, because if it were, you and Jasper would not be fighting it like two old mated people."_

"_If it were fake, it would be easy for you guys to get along with each other, and there would be no emotion involved at all. You would already be half way through your transformation, and we all would be preparing your first lesson as a newborn, not planning the next item on your bucket list," Esme said._

"_Honey, you were meant for us," Rose said, reaching out to take my hand. "And we were meant for you. Deal with it."_

"Yeah, I know your theory about why he's acting like an ass, but until he can treat me with some respect, then this is how _I_ feel about it."

Rose looked at me out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing else about it. "Shh, here they come. Now remember, stay absolutely quite. When a vampire is hunting, their instincts take over and rule their actions. One false move, and they could confuse you with the deer. They're gonna be especially careful, but maybe you could throw up your shield or something so that they couldn't hear you or your heart beat?"

"I wish I knew how it worked so that I could do that," I said.

"Maybe we can practice some drills later to see how it works," Rose whispered, and then indicated for me to be quiet.

I heard the sound of deer running through the trees and underbrush, and a second later the clearing we were sitting in burst into activity. Two full size bucks ran into the clearing, but I didn't see Jasper or Emmett until they were right in front of me.

Both vampires leapt through the air with such grace, height and beauty that any Julliard trained ballet dancer would be jealous watching them. I sat with my mouth open as Jasper and Emmett landed on the backs of each deer, taking them down to the ground. It was a shockingly beautiful sight, but what happened next was not what I was expecting.

If it were any later in the evening I wouldn't have been able to see them snap the necks of their prey. The sound of bone snapping was not a pleasant sound, and I was glad that my dinner from earlier was no longer sitting in my stomach.

My sole focus was on Jasper, and I watched as he ripped the fur from the neck of his kill before sinking his teeth into the flesh. It took maybe ten seconds and he was done, tossing the animal carcass aside.

"Breathe Bella," Rose whispered.

I looked at her and shook my head. "I-I d-don't think I can do t-that."

"It's not so bad honey, I promise," Rose said.

"No, I can't just kill something that hasn't done anything to me," I said, breathing heavy.

"I told you that this wasn't a good idea," Jasper mumbled.

"No, you're wrong. She needed to see this before hand," Emmett said, before kneeling down in front of me. "Look shortie, it's all a part of the cycle of life. Humans eat deer meat, bison, and even bears. We eat them too, just in a different way."

"But I…I…the sound of the bones…and I…I…it's just…dead." I jumped up off of the tree stump that I was sitting on, backing away from them. "I've got to get out of these woods."

"Bella stop acting like a brat," Jasper said angrily.

I whirled around to face him. "A brat? You have no right to tell me how to act or feel!" I screamed at him, crying.

"That's right," Emmett said, pulling me close and patting my back while I cried. "It's okay Bells, you can act and feel how you want."

Jasper lightly shoved Emmett away from me. "Don't touch her."

"Chill out bro," Emmett said. "Bells is my new sister, and if she's freaked out by all of this, well then, I'm gonna help her through it."

"We're going back to the airport hangar Jasper," Rose said, grabbing one of the deer by the leg. "Emmett, you get the other one. And Jasper, you fix this mess between the two of you."

"Yes ma'am! God you're sexy when you take charge babe," Emmett said grinning. "Talk to Bella, Jasper, and try not to put your foot in your mouth again."

In a gust of wind, Emmett and Rose were gone.

"I have to _die_ in twelve days and become this…this _thing_ that runs through the woods at night looking for a meal, Jasper. Yeah, my life ain't exactly roses. But now I have to give it up, and not by my choice either, to save my parents and you people. My best friend is gonna _hate_ me for no real reason, and you have the balls to tell me to stop acting like a brat. Fuck you, Jasper!"

I turned to stomp off, took one step and slipped and fell right in the middle of a huge puddle of mud. I sat there, crying and horrified that I was now completely covered in mud. But, I felt thick muscular arms encircle my waist from behind, and despite the mud, Jasper pull me up off of the ground.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Jasper whispered in my ear, pulling me close to his chest. "I'm sorry. You're right; I have no right to call you a brat. Please don't cry, I'm sorry."

"You're getting all muddy," I protested, trying to pull away.

"I don't care."

I hung on to his arm wrapped around my chest, and he let me cry until my tears ran dry.

"It's not that I don't want to help you guys, because I do. It's just that I had so many plans for my life, so many dreams. And now, now I've only got twelve days left to live. I'll be a college dropout, and..."

Jasper spun me around to face him. "I can't feel your emotions right now, but I can see how tough this is for you." He framed my face between his hands and wiped the remaining tears off of my cheeks with his thumbs. "Just because you become one of us doesn't mean that you stop living Bella. It just means that you live…differently."

"But what about school? And a career? And falling in love and having babies? I can't have any of that now because of Aro."

"There isn't a day that goes by that at least one of those thoughts doesn't cross our mind," Jasper said. "But I can't imagine that you'll be holed up in the castle in Volterra forever Bella. You need to remember that you'll have for the rest of eternity to do _most_ of the things that you've only dreamed about." He pulled me closer to his chest and ran his fingers through my hair and down my muddy back. "And you know that you aren't alone in all of this. We're all gonna help you through it."

"But what about when I have to leave?" I mumbled against his chest, clutching his sweater between my fingers.

I thought I felt him sniffing my hair, and were those his lips pressed against my forehead? But because the moment was so sweet, I didn't want to call him out on it and have him turn into Egosper again, and then remind me that I was assaulting him with my _emotions and shit_.

He sighed, and hesitated in answering. "We'll take care of that when we get to it. So don't worry about what happens when you have to leave."

"But-"

"C'mon, let's get back to the hangar. I can hear Rose talking to the mechanics, and it looks like we'll be spending the night here."

Emmett and Rose met us down the road from the airport hangar with a rental car. It was a big, black Toyota Tundra truck with a double cab. But because we were both nearly covered from head to toe in mud, Jasper and I climbed onto the back, and we headed into the city to find a hotel for the night.

We stopped at one of the swankiest hotel joints in town and Emmett and Rose procured two bedroom suites for us. As soon as we got settled in the room I immediately headed for the bathroom to clean up, leaving Jasper and the other two to plan the remainder of our night.

They were sitting on the large sectional sofa, backs toward me and facing the TV when I came out of the bathroom.

"I wanna go dancing," Rose said.

Jasper grunted. "I don't feel like being around a club full of people."

"Aww c'mon bro, we can do number five on Bella's list," Emmett said, pulling out the piece of paper that I had scribbled my list on.

"You're acting more like this is your list, not Bella's," Jasper said, plucking it out of his hand.

"Why are you keeping it in your pocket anyway?" Rose asked.

I came around the end of the sofa and plopped down beside Emmett. The look on his face suggested that he didn't sense my presence until he actually saw me. We were all still very much unsure about how my shield worked, and I was loving the fact that I could pretty much sneak up on one of them without them knowing it. They however, hated the fact that I was practically invisible to them at times.

Emmett shrugged and draped an arm around my shoulders. "I dunno, I guess 'cause I didn't get to do my bucket list before I died. And baby girl, we gotta find out how this shield of yours works so we can turn it off. I hate when you sneak up on me like that."

"It's fun being able to scare you guys," I said. "So you're living vicariously through me?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. And, you didn't scare me." Emmett clarified, ego slightly bruised. "It's just better for your sake if we can figure out how the shield works, so we can protect you better."

A determined look crossed Jasper's face. "Yeah, we need to be conducting drills and working with your shield instead of going out clubbing,"

I ignored him. If I was scheduled to die at the end of the next eleven days, then I was gonna to live it up as much as possible. "I think it's cool for you to share my list Em. So what do_ you _want to do tonight then?"

He flashed me a smile and then turned to Rose and Jasper. "Let's go dancing and get drunk."

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**A/N: So what do you think? Is Emmett gonna get wild? Is Jasper gonna let his ego ruin the night? Leave me some lovin' reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

**tHiRtEen**

**Thanks so much for the loving reviews to this! Please keep them coming.**

**To my wonderful beta's Cullen818 and JamesRamsey, who is living it up in Vegas, thanks so much chica's!**

**SM owns it!**

**Chapter 7**

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**JPOV**

Isabella Swan was going to give me a heart attack.

I was going to go down in history as the only vampire to be killed by a human.

How could such a tiny human cause me such enormous grief and headache?

Yeah, I knew I fucked up when I told her I didn't want to deal with her emotions and shit, and that she needed to keep her sex fantasies to herself. But, did she have to go running straight to Edward?

I paced around my room for a couple of hours, trying to calm the demon within me. This was all my fault, I reasoned. I should have just turned her when I had my teeth in her under that tree. But no, forcing something upon someone who was not yet willing was not my style.

"You did this to yourself," Peter said, standing in the doorway of my bedroom looking smug.

"Shut up," I said, turning away from him.

"You're trying to control a situation that is not within your power to control. Just let it happen man."

"I don't know what you're talking about Peter." I tossed the brass paperweight back and forth between my hands. It was purely a nervous human gesture, but if I didn't do something to occupy my hands, then I was going to go down the hallway and murder my brother and probably Bella too.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Bella is not Alice."

"I know that."

"Do you? Then why are you pushing her away? Why are you fighting the bond?"

"The bond exists only to make it easier for me to train her. It's artificial and fake. You heard what Aro said when he instructed Chelsea to bind us."

Peter shook his head. "For an empath, you suck."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you," he poked me in the chest, "know the difference between a fake bond and a real one, because you can feel it here, despite Bella's shield." He poked me several more times in the chest, right over the spot where my heart would have been had I still had one.

I pushed his hand away. "Quit poking me."

"Quit being an ass," he turned his head toward the door. "And you'd better go rescue your woman before Eddie boy dazzles her panties off."

I growled. I could hear Edward putting the moves on my woman, my mate, and I was not going to sit by and watch that happen. It angered me that I couldn't feel her reaction to him, so I didn't know if she were receptive to the game he was running on her or not. But, it enraged me that I could feel his lust for her. It was pouring off of him in buckets, and knowing what a horny bastard he was, it didn't take a mind reader to know what he was up to. I needed to get to her before he did something that I would definitely have to kill him for.

Needless to say, my efforts to rescue Bella from Edward's clutches didn't go as planned, and I ended up losing my self control. Edward was maliciously taunting me with his emotions, going from lust toward Bella, to smug satisfaction over succeeding at pissing me off. I could smell the pheromones he had been emitting to dazzle her, and it took all the strength I had to not rip his head away from his body.

So I threw some of his own medicine back at him, saying that he couldn't fuck a girl without killing her-which was not entirely the truth. Edward's first sexual experience fifty years earlier had ended in a bloody disaster, one that he had begged for my help in cleaning up, and the details of which I didn't ever want to discuss again.

Despite the innocent routine that Edward liked to play in front Carlisle, Esme and the rest of the family, I knew that the real Edward Anthony Masen Cullen was a man whore. He was leading a double life; polite and charming by day, and a prowling sex fiend at night. Besides Alice and probably Peter, none of them had no idea what their adopted son and brother was capable of when it came to the ladies.

I could hear Bella screaming at us to stop fighting, and I knew that it was dangerous for her to be in the same room with two out of control vampires. I was trying to subdue Edward with a little bit of lethargy when he whispered to me.

"I'm gonna fuck her brains out, and she's gonna beg me for more."

His statement set me on fire, and if it hadn't been for Esme intervening and Peter grabbing me into a vampire body hold, I would have dismembered him on the spot and danced wildly around his funeral pyre.

The next day and a half passed with Bella and I circling each other like two beta fish about to attack each other. She insisted on sleeping in and hanging out in Edward's room, and when I tried to talk to her about it, either Edward would interrupt us, or Bella would scowl at me and walk away. So I left her alone and made sure to keep a listening ear out in case I needed to intervene_. _Carlisle finally gave her a clean bill of health and we left the family, and thankfully, Edward's lewd emotions and lust, behind.

But our differences of opinion didn't end with Edward, they seemed to only start there. I knew that allowing Bella to watch us hunt was a bad idea. One of the main reasons that vampires kept their identities a secret in the first place was that humans generally were not capable of dealing with something that…different. Even though I couldn't read Bella's emotional temperature, I knew that she was not equipped to handle what she was about to see.

And, I wouldn't say that I hate to tell you so, because I loved it when I was right. Bella freaked out and started screaming at me and stomping around in the forest. She slipped in a huge puddle of mud, and I had to say that it was fucking funny, and strangely erotic, to see her all covered in mud.

She did have a point though, I had no right to tell her how to think or feel. So I apologized, and comforted her the best I could. I held her close, reassuring her that we would all help her through her transformation and help her get acclimated to being a vampire. Did I mention that I ignored the tugging feeling in my chest that I felt when I was holding her close? It meant nothing anyway, so why should I pay it any attention, right?

And of course, the Adventures of Bella didn't end with her hunting expedition. I knew that once Emmett pulled Bella's list out of his pocket, that things were going to get crazy.

"Honey, pull those puppies up," Rose said. "Yours aren't as large as mine, so you gotta work with what you got. Here, let me."

I was coming out of the bedroom when I saw Rose and Bella standing in front of the large mirror behind the bar. Rose reached over, shoved one hand down the front of Bella's shirt, and rearranged her tits so that the tops of them were sticking out. Then she squeezed them together and jiggled them around a bit.

"You can see 'em much better now," Rose said, grinning and removing her hand.

"Yeah, you're right," Bella said, admiring Roses' handy work.

"Oh my God, I think that's the fuckin' hottest thing I've ever seen in my life," Emmett said, staring at his wife feeling up my mate.

I shoved him. "Shut up Em."

He wiped the venom off of his bottom lip with the back of this shirt sleeve. "Tell me you don't think that's hot?"

Hot? Hell yes I thought that was hot.

Rose turned and winked at her husband.

But when Bella walked out from behind the bar I thought that I would lose my shit for real. I was stunned for about four point two seconds, and then my demon broke out.

"Oh fuck no! Go change your clothes!"

"What, why?" Rose asked.

"Not you, her!" I said, pointing to Bella.

"What's wrong with what I have on?" Bella demanded, hands on her hips.

Once again, I knew that I was going to be stuck in the middle of an argument about Bella's attire. What the hell was going on here? I felt more like an overprotective father than the uber badass vamp that I was known for.

"_What's wrong with it_?" I asked, shocked that she would ask me that. Was she fucking insane? "What's _right_ with it? You got those…those-"

"Breasts," Emmett said. "They're called breasts, Jasper."

"Thank you Emmett, but I know what the fuck they're called!" I ran my hands through my hair, yanking on the ends. "And, I want you to put them away."

"Where, in my pocket?" Bella asked flippantly, looking down at her exposed chest. "There is nothing wrong with this blouse Jasper."

Okay, so that solidified it, she was insane.

The _blouse,_ and I used that term loosely because it was more like strips of dental floss, was bright purple and form fitting with slits cut in it. I knew that I was fucking up this description, but that was the best I could come up with considering how fucked up the blouse was. And what was more fucked up, was not only was she wearing very little up top, but the skinny jeans that she was wearing looked like she had been melted, and then poured in to them.

Could she even breathe? And five inch heels? How was she gonna walk? What made her think that I was gonna let her out of the hotel room wearing that get up?

"Cut the bullshit Bella. If we're gonna go out tonight, then you gotta change into something else," I said, shoving a tee shirt at her. "Or, we can stay here and work on your shielding drills."

"Lay off of her Jasper," Emmett said. "I think she looks hot."

"Yeah," Rose said. "Bella, you got some smoking hot tits, and they're just the right size, Jasper." She flexed her fingers like she was gabbing a set of tits.

_Where the hell am I, the twilight zone?_

"Look you two, stay the hell out of this!"

"There is nothing wrong with my outfit Jasper," Bella said. "Rose is wearing something similar, and you haven't said anything to her about it."

"Rose is not my mate, you are! And, you are not going to be struttin' around here looking like-"

"Like what?" Bella asked.

Her face was turning bright red and I could feel her anger. I thought it best to change my words before I said something really bad. "Like _that_!" I said, waving my hands around in the general area of her chest.

"Emmett, are you ready to go?" Bella asked, ignoring me and turning her back to me.

Her dismissal set my venom on fire. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back around to face me. "Don't you fucking ignore me!"

She yanked her arm out of my grasp, and I swear, hand to God, that it looked like her head was going to twirl around on her neck and exploded. Like a pussy, I took a step back. And then another.

"Let's get one thing straight Jasper Whitlock," she said, advancing on me, one finger pointed in my face. "Maybe I can't change what's gonna happen to me in ten and a half days, but for right now, tonight, I'm gonna do whatever the hell it is I want, when I want, and that includes wearing this outfit. And, I could give a flying fuck if you like it or not."

She turned around and high fived Rose.

"Emmett, are you ready?" Bella asked again.

"Sure thang hot mama." He held his arms out for Bella and Rose to hook theirs through, and with one last look at me, he winked at me and they headed out the door.

Okay, so I just got told off by a…human. A very tiny human who, realistically, I could snap in half and eat for breakfast. But something told me to just leave her alone and see where the night led us. I had a feeling that things were going to get interesting.

Neither of us had been to Colorado Springs before, so we were unaware of what we were walking into when we got to The Mansion nightclub. Loud rap music was blaring through the speakers, spilling out into the street. Young guys were hanging around outside of the entrance, dressed in baggy jeans and large oversized tee shirts, hats on backwards and pretending to act like the gangsta's they were not. The women were dressed much like Rose and Bella, skin tight clothes and leaving nothing to the imagination.

A few of the guys whistled at our girls when we walked by. I sent them a death ray stare and a low growl, only to be nudged by Rose.

"Stop it Jasper," Rose said.

"This is the very reason why you should have changed clothes," I mumbled to Bella under my breath, and shoved my hands in my pockets.

"If you don't like it, then you can go back to the hotel room," Bella said. "And Em, how the hell am I supposed to get drinks? I don't turn twenty-one for another couple of days."

Emmett grinned, and in lightening speed, whipped out a small plastic card. "Bam! Your very own fake ID."

Bella snatched it out of his hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Wow, this is way cool. Where did you get this? It looks so official."

Emmett popped his collar, looking pleased with himself. "When you've been a vampire for as long as we have Bells, you tend to learn a thing or two about breaking the law the legal way."

"That makes absolutely no sense," I argued. "How the hell do you break the law the legal way?"

He pointed to the plastic in Bella's hand. "Easy, you make fake ID's that look legal."

"But that still-" I stopped myself. Why the hell was I about to argue with Emmett? "Never mind. If' we're going in, let's get this over with."

"Let's get this party started rrrriiiiigggghhhhttt!" Emmett sang, dancing around.

"Let's get this party started qqqquuuuiiiiicccckkklllyyyy!" Bella took up the end of the chorus, singing at the top of her lungs and dancing around with my brother.

I rolled my eyes.

_Please God, strike me down with lighting, right the fuck now._

Rose paid the cover charge and we made a bee line to the bar. I didn't like the way the guys were staring at Bella, and it took all of the concentration that I could muster to keep from throwing them through the nearest wall with the amount of lust coming off of them.

"Okay Bells, whatcha gonna drink first?" Emmett asked, lifting Bella up onto the bar stool.

She thought for a minute. "I think I'll have a shot of whiskey."

"I don't think you wanna do that Bella," I warned.

She turned those big brown eyes on me, and I was suddenly grateful that looks, in fact, could not kill. "Why the hell not?" she snapped.

I remembered the first time I got drunk. It was off of shots of whiskey, sitting around a camp fire with the guys from my infantry after winning a major battle in the War. We had celebrated our victory by pillaging a farm and taking everything that we could get our hands on. Our commander had divided up the spoils, and gave us each a bottle for a job well done. I thought that puking up my guts was the worst way to spend a night, but three days later I met Maria and her sisters and learned that burning from the inside out felt much worse.

"Because whiskey is strong stuff, and if you've never had anything alcoholic, then it may be a bit upsetting to your stomach."

"Well then, what do you suggest?" she asked.

I shrugged, fresh out of ideas. I had no point of reference beyond the one time I had been drunk.

"Well if you want a lady's drink, then I suggest a lemon drop martini," Rose said in a tone that suggested that she had previous bartending experience. "But, if you want a dance your ass off type of drink, then perhaps a shot of Patron."

"How the hell would you know?" I asked her.

"I read Cosmo," she defended. "Plus, I used to drink…before..."

"Yeah, but port wine at the high flauntin' Ladies Society luncheons don't count," I reminded her.

"Yeah, and babe, Patron has got to be much stronger than whiskey," Emmett said. "Maybe we should start with a beer, like they do on TV."

"What do you mean, we?" I asked. There was no way in hell I was going to consume anything that they served unless it had a high red blood cell count.

He rolled his eyes. "Chillax Jaspy, I mean me and Bells here. We know that you've got that stick way too far up your ass to do something like havin' a little fun."

"I am not …fuck you man," I said, slightly pissed off at his statement. "I simply don't want to spend my night throwing up."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Anyways Bells, I think a beer is probably a good idea."

"Okay, so which one?"

"Tap the Rockies!" Emmett said, slapping money down on the bar with an open palm. "Two Coors Light brewski's over here bartender!"

"How the hell are you going to do this Em?" I asked, intrigued with his stupidity.

"Easy my man." He caught the two beers that the bartender slid down the bar. He handed one to Bella and they clinked bottle necks together. "If I flatten my tongue, tilt my head back and pour, I figure that if I can't taste it, then I won't gag and spit it out."

"This is never gonna work. When it hits your stomach, it's gonna make you spew."

"We'll see. Ready for your first beer Bells?" Emmett said.

"Ready."

"Okay, on the count of three then. One, two, three!"

Bella turned her bottle up, took a few gulps and then brought the bottle down. She gagged a bit and screwed up her face at the bitter taste, but for the most part, she did better than I expected for someone who had never had anything alcoholic. Emmett on the other hand, was another story entirely.

He drained his bottle and slammed it down on the counter a little too hard, shattering the glass. He swayed a little, and swallowed a couple of times like he was testing whether or not his stomach would hold the foreign liquid.

"If you're gonna throw that up, make sure you aim it away from me," Bella said.

"Nah, I'm good. Bartender, one more!"

"C'mon Bells, let's dance!" Rose said, pulling Bella off of the bar stool.

"Hold on, let me finish this first." She turned the bottle up and downed the rest of the beer. She swayed for a moment with the head rush and then grinned at me. "Okay, let's go!"

I watched as Bella disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor behind Rose. Emmett followed them out to the floor, and sandwiched himself in between the two girls, grinding on them and dancing crazy.

I watched them for a while, and refused when Emmett waved me over to dance with them. Dancing was not something I particularly enjoyed doing, and I tried avoiding it at all cost. That was much easier to do since I had divorced Alice.

Emmett approached me, and clamped a hand on my shoulder. "Relax Jazz, Bells will be okay."

I tried to pull away from him when I saw two guys approach Rose and Bella. I had seen the way one of them had been looking at Bella when she was at the bar, and I didn't like the way his eyes had traveled up and down her body. If he thought that he was going to get the chance to even stand near her and breathe the same air as her, then he had another thing coming. Like my fist in his face.

Emmett tightened his grip on me.

"Let me go Em," I warned.

"What are you gonna do Jasper? Go pound his face in for looking at her?"

I could feel the guy's lust as he was getting closer to her. Bella turned and smiled at him. _She smiled at him!_ What the fuck? Why the hell was she encouraging him?

"No, I'm gonna murder him, and then lock her in my bedroom."

"Ooohh, kinky!" he joked.

I pulled away from him. "Cut it out Emmett."

Emmett jumped in front of my pathway, pushing me back into the bar. "No Jasper, you cut it out. You made it very clear to her that you didn't want anything to do with her in that way. I think your exact words were, 'keep your lustful thoughts and fantasies to a minimum'. If you don't want her, let someone else make her happy."

"You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

I watched Bella agree to dance with the guy, and he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her into his body. They swayed together to the beat of the music, and she threw her head back and laughed with something that he whispered into her ear. She was flirting with him. _Flirting_!

"Earth to Jasper," Emmett said, waving his hand in my face.

I knocked his hand away. "Why would she…he can't…fuck it!" I slammed my fist into the wood of the bar a little too forcefully, creating a dent. I looked around, but no one seemed to be paying attention to us, the music was too loud and the air was heavy with lust. "It's just not logical for her to be with _him_ given what she's about to go through in the next ten days."

"Really? That's your explanation for wanting to act like a caveman? Because she's gonna die in the next ten days? Isn't that what this is all about anyway, Jasper? She wants to do things that she's never gotten to do before, and here you are, wanting to ruin her fun."

I turned away from the dance floor, not wanting to see Bella get dry humped by some thug. Okay, so that was an exaggeration. If he had been in fact about to dry hump her I wouldn't be sitting at the bar like some wimpy vampire.

But, I couldn't deny that the urge to rip the maggot apart was almost too much to bear, and I was having a hard time keeping my demon under wraps. I calculated what my chances would be of getting around Emmett to get the guy away from Bella, but figured that Rose would cut off my balls and hide them if I 'accidentally' harmed her husband in the process. "I don't want to ruin Bella's fun. I just don't want him taking advantage of her."

"Right."

I didn't like his tone. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you want her, but you're too much of a jerk to admit it to yourself, or her. Both of you are fighting something that's stronger than either of you combined." He turned up another beer and drained the contents of the bottle. "Imma go dance with my woman. Leave Bella alone and let her find some happiness."

I swiveled the bar stool back around to face the dance floor. Rose was dancing by herself, and as she felt Emmett's approach, she shook her hips at him, running her hands up and down her body in invitation. I was very glad that we had separate hotel suites down the hall from each other, but I felt sorry for the people that were in the room next to them. Emmett and Rose had been known to tear the house down, or any structure really, with their bedroom activities.

I searched the crowd for Bella and her ass wipe of a dance partner, but couldn't spot them. I knew enough about my demon to know that I didn't need to panic. If I panicked, then it would send _him_ into an out of control spiral of fury, wreaking havoc on a massive amount of people and exposing all of us to the ignorant world of humans.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on sending out my emotional feelers. Each individual had a certain emotional pattern attached to their psyche, almost like emo DNA. However, locating Bella might prove to be more a challenge though, because of her on again, off again shield. If her shield was up, then it may be damn near impossible to find her in a crowd.

It had taken me years of practice to learn how to hone into each separate pattern, and it was easier to locate that person if I was familiar with them. I hadn't known Bella for that long, but we had shared something that connected us. Her blood. And a mating bond.

I found her a few minutes later, dancing by herself on the opposite side of the club from where we had come in. Her back was turned toward me, and she was swinging her hips in time to some new Usher/ female rapper collaboration. I wasn't in a dancing mood, but she looked way too good moving her hips that way to pass up.

I stepped up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, and settling my hands on her hips. She responded to me like we had danced together for years, leaning back into my body, her ass to my dick, and moving in sync to the rhythmic pace that I set in time with the beat.

I felt my body absorbing her body heat, and like a heat seeking missile, my dick locked target on the hottest part of her body. I tried to fight it, but my body was sometimes stronger than my mind. She felt my erection, pushed her hips farther backward in to me, and with a coy smirk on her face looked back over her shoulder at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Jasper?" she whispered.

_Aw, fuck it!_

"Bella?" I asked in a challenge. Was she going to be the one to break, or was it going to be me?

The music changed, and suddenly it was some guy singing about making love faces. How ironic. Bella raised one arm, hooked her hand behind my neck and pulled me down to her. I willingly obliged, and as my lips neared hers, a few thoughts crossed my mind.

One, she had had a lot more to drink that just that one beer. Two, her lips looked way too soft, and if I started kissing her, I knew that I would never want to stop. Three, if the lips on her face looked this good, I could only imagine what her lips further down looked like. Four, I could smell her arousal, and if it tasted as sweet as it smelled, then I was in fuckin' trouble. A shitload of trouble.

There were, literally, a hundred and fifty seven other thoughts swirling around my brain at the exact moment my lips ghosted over hers, and ninety four of them dealt with how many ways I could fuck her.

I cleared my head and concentrated on how my lips would feel against hers. And, just as we were about to kiss…

"Hey dude, that's my girl!"

It was the same guy that Bella had been dancing with before. He was standing in front of us carrying a beer and some sort of reddish yellow drink concoction that I assumed was for Bella.

This is the point in the story where the needle on the record scratches, the music stops and everyone stares at what was about to go down. But yeah, that only happens on TV.

If anything, the music got louder, and the crowd roared as a new Lil Wayne song came on.

"I'm sorry, I think you're mistaken," I said, trying to be the polite and socially acceptable vampire that Esme raised.

"Get yo fuckin' hands off my woman!" he screamed.

"Hey Brian," Bella said, stepping forward. I didn't want her anywhere near him in the first place, but now he was screaming in anger, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "It's been great dancing with you, and thanks for the drinks and all, but I think I'd better get back to my friends."

Bella wasn't stupid; she knew a dangerous situation when she saw one brewing.

"But we were gonna hook up tonight baby," he said, moving closer to her. "You were gonna let me taste that pussy, remember?"

I yanked her back to my side as he approached and growled at him. Apparently, my reaction set him off, and he threw down the drinks he was holding. I could smell a lot more than alcohol in one of them. He was planning on drugging her!

"You little bitch, I spent money buying you drinks! You owe me!" the fucker roared.

He started towards her, one arm raised as if he were going to hit her. It took just one wrong word, and one wrong movement, and my demon was out to play, and I didn't mean hopscotch either.

_He _could taste the blood before _he_ even chomped down.

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**A/N: I hope that you liked it. Leave me some lovin' reviews guys!**

**Song: Making Love Faces by Trey Songz**

**And I couldn't find the name of the other song!**


	8. Chapter 8

**tHiRtEen**

**Chapter 8**

**Thanks JamesRamsey and Cullen818, my supa dupa badass beta's!**

**SM owns it, I just like messin' wit 'em! **

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****BPOV**

I was dancing alone when I felt Jasper's arms come around my waist, and then he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of my jeans. I shivered a little at the temperature of his skin, but it was something that I was quickly becoming used to, and for some strange reason, I liked it; my heat to his cold.

The music switched from a loud thumping beat to a more sensual tone. Jasper's reaction to the change in music triggered my own, and I pushed my hips back into him, liking the way I could feel him against my body, hard and long.

I had wanted to kiss him since the day under the tree when he fed from me, and in fact, I had imagined it so many times since then, that I had no hesitation in reaching up to him to bring him down to my level. My fingers curled in the soft hair at the nape of his neck, stroking his skin there. He emitted a sound, not like the growls or snarls that I had heard him make before, but almost like a…purr?

"Jasper?" I asked, staring into his eyes and then at his lips.

I licked my lips and he made that purring sound again.

"Bella?" he asked, his cool breath whispering over my face.

Okay, so were we going to go through with this or not? What was he going to do once I kissed him? Because yeah, I was gonna initiate it, but was he going to swallow his male ego and let me, or was he gonna act like an ass, again, and ruin it? 'Cause frankly, I was a little more than tired of the running around each other that we had been doing.

And, if I had to be truthful to myself, I knew that there was _something _between us. What that _something_ was, I couldn't even begin to tell you. But, there was a reason that he always seemed to be yelling at me about what I was wearing or stating what was too dangerous for me to do, or disapproving of who I was hanging out with, like Edward. If he didn't care, he wouldn't act like such an idiot all the time. Right?

And, if I didn't care, then I wouldn't enjoy pushing his buttons so much. Yeah, it's a fucked up world we live in when kindergarten playground antics rule relationships. A boy pulls a girls hair because he likes her, then the girl punches the boy in the face because she likes him back. It worked at age five, and it worked at age one hundred forty seven too!

And then, just as we were about to kiss…

"Hey dude, that's my girl!"

Damn it all to hell! Jasper's lips were mere millimeters from mine when Brian interrupted us. I was finally going to see what it felt like to kiss Jasper, and the imbecile that I had been dancing with earlier had to butt in at the wrong freakin' time!

Jasper tried to intervene, but that made Brian, who was a little more than tipsy, mad as hell. He started going on about how I was his woman, and that I was gonna let him into my pants! Was he crazy? I wouldn't let him touch me with a ten foot pole! He was just fun to dance with, and he kept bringing me fruity alcoholic drinks.

Jasper yanked me back to his side after I tried, unsuccessfully, to defuse the situation. I could hear snarls, and growls coming out of him.

_That's right douche, my man is about to fuck you up!_

But wait a second, Jasper is a vampire, and when a vamp fucks you up, that usually means that a coroner and a body bag is involved. And not only that, but the Volturi too.

Right before we had left Forks, Rose, Emmett and the rest of the family had begun filling me in on what the Volturi's function really was. The one main rule that they enforced was for vampires to not expose themselves to humans.

One Jasper, plus one fucked up human equals a lot of shed blood and a smoking funeral pyre smelling like napalm. The Volturi would be down on us faster than a street pimp puttin' his ho in check.

The synapses in my brain were connecting the dots faster than I could consciously keep up with. The one thought that kept shouting at me was that I had to do something to stop Jasper from publicly making Brian his new chew toy. I saw his eyes turn black and before I knew it, I reached out and grabbed a vampire in attack mode.

Okay, so I knew enough about how vamps operated to know that simply grabbing onto Jasper would not be enough to physically hold him back. What I was hoping for was that it would be enough of a distraction to remind Jasper that what he was about to do in a room full of humans would be the signature on his death warrant. But what I got was not what I was expecting at all.

I wouldn't say that my plan backfired, because it didn't. But it did take a major detour.

Jasper had both fists curled and one raised, ready to knock the fool out and send him to an early grave. At the moment my hand connected with Jasper's cold flesh, I felt a surge of power so strong that it jolted through my body much like someone who had been struck by lightning. The current was not as strong as lightning of course, but it shot through my arm, down my spine and legs then out of my feet. It didn't exactly hurt, but it didn't feel good either.

Because I grabbed Jasper while he was in motion, he stumbled with the momentum behind the punch that failed to connect with its target. _Stumbled!_ Vampires don't stumble, ever. Vampires didn't drop things, they didn't trip over things and because of their perfect, microscopic vision, they saw everything to the tiniest detail.

_So how the hell did one touch make him stumble?_

"What the fuck just happened?" Jasper demanded, recovering his stance.

"Jasper-"

"What did you do to me?" he asked, wildly looking around.

The music switched again, and seemed to get louder. The crowd was getting worked up with the music, and was pushing us closer to the edge of the dance area. I could see Brian moving forward toward us, ready to take advantage of Jasper's bewildered state. "He can't even defend you!" he laughed. "C'mere baby, and let a real man show you what he's made of." He grabbed his crotch, grinning.

"Back off Brian, just leave me alone!" I shouted above the music, and turned back toward Jasper. "Jasper-"I felt a hot, sweaty hand on my arm and Brian pulled me toward him. "Let me go!" I whirled around and punched him.

He howled like a baby when he saw the blood spurt out of his broken nose.

"You broke my fuckin' nose bitch!" he yelled, looking at the blood on his hands.

"Hey, what's going on here?"One of Brian's friends asked. Two more of his friends walked up, flanking his sides.

I ignored them all, and my now stinging, hurt fist, because my focus was on Jasper, and what the hell had passed from him, through me, when I touched him.

I reached out to Jasper. "Jasper, please-"

He grabbed both of my wrists and shook me. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"I don't know, let me go!"

"You made me…you zapped me or something. I…I stumbled?"

I didn't know what had happened between Jasper and I, but it was obvious that he was just as freaked out about it as I was; probably more so. His eyes were wild, still black, and his grip tightened on my wrists.

"Jasper please, you're hurting me!" I screamed at him, kicking out at his legs. I stopped struggling against his hold when it felt like he was about to snap my arms in two.

"Hey, you hit him?" Brian's friend asked, looking at Jasper.

_Would these idiots not just go the fuck away?_

I didn't know if Jasper suddenly noticed the amount of pressure that he was putting on my wrists, or if he realized that we were not completely out of danger from Brian and his friends, but his head snapped up and he growled. He released my arms and stepped in front of me, pushing me behind his back.

Jasper took a few steps toward Brian and his group of cronies. I could see him trembling with the need to get himself under control. If he didn't, things were going to get really ugly. He flexed his fingers, curling them into fists. "Stay the fuck away from her!"

I yanked on the back of his shirt, trying to get his attention. "Jasper please, the Volturi…"

I felt a gust of wind, and suddenly, I was gone.

**JPOV**

One minute I was about to chomp down on me some delicious human, and the next I felt Bella grab my arm and I was stumbling forward from a punch that didn't hit its intended target.

_What the fuck just happened to me?_

The moment she grabbed me it felt like all of the energy, or power, that I had was drained completely out of my body. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but in that short period of time, I felt almost…human?

Now don't get me wrong, I didn't feel human in the warm blooded, heart beating sense, but I felt human in the physically weak sense. It was similar to how my victims feel when I shoot them up with the strongest amount of lethargy that I can muster up. It was a feeling of not being able to do anything, and like gravity had abruptly increased all around me and I was moving in slow motion.

To be honest, it scared the shit out of me. And of course I reacted badly to it. I grabbed Bella's wrists, and I could feel her bones straining under the pressure I was putting on them. I was trying to get myself under control, but the fact that I had went up against a human and _lost_ was a huge blow to my ego; especially when she had to defend herself, and punched that asshole. I should be flossing human out of my teeth, not feeling like the world's biggest vampire loser. What good was I if she could take care of herself? My pride couldn't take it, and I was embarrassed for not being able to protect her.

I heard Brian and his group of buddies behind us, and I could feel their mob mentality. They mistakenly thought that I was the one that punched him, and they were planning on showing me that if I messed with one of them, then I was messing with the rest of them.

I released Bella, and pushed her behind my back. It was time to finish what I had started.

The demon was back, stronger than ever. _He_ would show everybody who the fuck was in charge.

One minute I was preparing for a blood bath, and the next I was hurling my fist through the side of a brick wall in a dark smelly alley. Peter and Emmett stood like Roman sentries in the mouth of the alley, blocking my exodus.

_Peter_? What the fuck was he doing here, and where the hell was my mate?

"What the fuck is going on?" I demanded. "Where is my mate?"

"You need to calm down Major," Peter said.

I sniffed the air, searching for my mate's scent but unable to locate her. I could only smell…vampire venom vomit?

I got right up into Peter's face. "Get the fuck out of my way and tell me where my mate is!"

"She's somewhere safe now," Emmett said.

"Where. Is. She?"

Neither of them answered. I punched the brick wall a few more times, working out my frustration. Jasper and the demon were fighting with each other. I knew that Peter and Emmett were two of my family members, but they were keeping me away from my mate, and my demon didn't care who they were, he was about to annihilate anything and anyone in his path to get to her.

I also knew that I had to concentrate so that I could filter out the demon and latch onto her emotional wavelength. It wasn't working though, and I pounded the brick harder.

"Jasper!"

"Stop Bella, you can't go near him when he's like that, you could get hurt," Emmett said.

At the sound of her name being called, I felt the demon slip away and Jasper took over once again.

"Bella! Let her go!"

"It's okay, see, he's okay," Bella said, and pulled away from Emmett.

She ran toward me, and right before reaching me, she tripped in her five inch heels. I caught her easily within my arms.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded eagerly. "I should be asking you that."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" I ran my hands up and down her arms, testing her skin temperature and deeply sniffing the air around her for any hidden injuries. I stopped at her wrists. Even in the dim light of the alley it would be easy for anyone to see the black and blue bruises. "I did this."

"No, it's okay. It doesn't hurt," Bella lied. "I'm okay, and he didn't touch me."

I analyzed her emotional state, and noted that she was feeling a mixture of fear, relief, disappointment and lust? Huh? Was she really planning to hook up with that guy? Was she disappointed that I stepped in when I did and interrupted it? And then on top of that, I hurt her.

"What happened?" I asked. I wasn't satisfied with my own crude medical assessment, nor with her emotional well being. But, I pushed that aside for the moment. Right now, I needed to know if I had in fact killed that thug and if we would be facing the Volturi sooner rather than later.

"Peter happened," Bella said. "He swooped in, grabbed you and ran out of the building with you."

"You left her in there by herself?" I asked, upset. Depending on his answer, he was about to lose an arm or two.

"No! No, no Major, calm down. The missus grabbed Bella two seconds after I stopped you from murdering that boy."

I scrubbed my face with both hands. "Somebody start at the beginning," I said, not quite understanding what had happened.

"We were still in Forks, trying to help Eleazar and Carlisle settle our little issues with the wolves when Eddie boy ran out the house like the demons from hell were chasing him," Char said, now joining our alleyway group with Rose slightly behind her, who had her cell phone to her ear. I could hear the low buzz of Esme's voice, but blocked it out to concentrate on what Char was saying.

"So we immediately went after him to see what's up. Of course the little shit won't tell us what's going on, so Peter had to detain him, and persuade him to give up the info."

"What info?" I ask, impatient.

"Alice saw you kill that kid, and she was debating on whether or not to warn you."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "She _debated_ on whether or not to tell me?" Why the hell would she debate on telling me something like that? Was she purposely trying to get me killed by the Volturi? Was this her pay back for the way I ended our relationship?

"I have a hunch as to why she debated telling you, but I can't say for certain what her reasons are," Peter said. "Anyways, I made Edward stay back in Forks to help settle the talks with the mutts-I figured that you wouldn't want him here-and Char and I high tailed it across a couple of state lines to get here in time."

"Peter snatched you away from that creep before you made a milkshake out of him, and I grabbed Bella," Char said.

"And what happened to Brian and his friends?"

"They disappeared," Emmett said.

"What do you mean, they disappeared?" I asked angrily.

I could feel disappointment and shame rolling off of Emmett. He took a deep breath. "Rose and I went back into the club to look for them, but they were gone."

"Where were you two anyway while all of this was going on?"

Emmett turned away, and if a vampire could blush, I was sure that he would be ten shades of red by now. "I got a little sick," he said under his breath.

"Well that explains the vamp vomit smell at the end of the alley. I guess alcohol doesn't agree with you after all."

"But that doesn't explain why you're pants are unzipped and Rosie's shirt is inside out," Bella said laughing.

Emmett grinned. It didn't take a genius to know what they had been up to in that alley. I was just glad that I hadn't personally witnessed it.

"Peter, Esme says that if you don't tell her what part of the river you threw Edward's foot in, that she's gonna burn your vintage comic book collection!" Rose said.

"Tell her she'll never find my comic books, or Eddie's foot!" Peter laughed manically.

Rose held out the phone toward him. "She says that she knows where you hide your porn collection then, and she's headed that way now if you don't tell her!"

"No Mama E, don't!" Peter yelled and ran for the phone.

Bella laughed at Peter, and shivered in the night air. I started to reach for her, but then thought about what had happened inside of the club and then yanked my hands away. My brain was running through the details of what had happened all the way up to when Bella zapped me, and then immediately afterwards.

I had touched her afterwards, even leaving bruises, and nothing had happened. What the hell kind of power was this? Maybe it was tied to her shield or something, and it worked intermittently. If she didn't know how to control her shield, then she wouldn't know how to control this zapping thing. It was time to stop screwing around and get to the bottom of this before we were all rendered helpless.

I was hoping no one noticed me yanking my hands away from Bella, but of course Peter did.

He snapped the phone shut, cocking an eyebrow at me. "I told you that the _hands_ you were dealt were special ones," he said, repeating what he had told me before Bella and I had left Forks.

"What the hell does that mean?" Emmett asked.

"Nothing, it means nothing at all," I said, gritting my teeth.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't feel like dealing with Peter and his cryptic messages. I was more concerned that if I touched Bella, would she zap me again? I had a badass vamp reputation to uphold, I couldn't be seen stumbling around town. Every vampire's ass that I had kicked or threatened to kick for the last one hundred years or more would want a piece of geriatric Jasper. And there was no way that I was gonna let that happen.

I ignored Peter. "You look cold, maybe we should call it a night and go back to the hotel," I suggested to Bella.

"But it's still early," Bella protested.

"We need to figure out what the hell is going on," I said, reaching for her arm to guide her to the truck, but stopped short again before I actually touched her.

"What the hell is going on with you Jazz?" Rose asked, noting the way I fidgeted in the car seat.

I sighed, not wanting any of them to know about what had happened in the club. I could only imagine what they would think of me once they knew that I had actually stumbled, and was rendered immobile by a _human_.

I remained silent, staring at the neon bar signs as we made our way back to the hotel.

"We need to get a _hand_-le on the situation," Peter said.

"Babe, what are you talking about?" Char asked.

"What do you know?" Bella asked, narrowing her eyes at Peter.

He turned away, whistling. "I only know what I know. Hey, is that the little dipper up there?" He pointed toward the sky, trying to change the subject.

For some strange reason, Peter felt that I was too arrogant for my own good sometimes, and he was trying, in his 'round about way, to force me into telling the group about what had happened in the club.

"What is going on?" Rose demanded once we got into the hotel room, hands on her hips looking at me.

Bella and I looked at each other.

"Bella has another gift," I said.

"Another one?" Char asked, surprised. "You're like Super Bella or something; the most powerful human on the face of the planet!"

"Hey that's cool lil sis, what is it?" Emmett said, draping his arm around her shoulders before I could warn him.

"Energy absorption," I said. "Through skin-to-skin contact."

Emmett looked at me, then Bella, eyes going wide before she unknowingly zapped him and he fell to his knees.

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**A/N: Okay guys, no flames about Bella having multiple powers. And please don't stop reading. I promise that it will not get too far fetched. All will be explained in the next chapter, and as long as it passes beta inspection, then it will be up in the next couple of days.**

**As always, leave me some good lovin' reviews please.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**tHiRtEen**

**Thanks to my two rockin' betas: JamesRamsey and Cullen818!**

**Please forgive me for not responding to reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate all of you who took the time to tell me what you thought of my little fic here. And also, thank you to those who added tHiRtEen to their alerts and favorites.**

**SM doesn't own this one! She's got her own.**

**Trust me guys, I won't let it get far fetched.**

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**JPOV**

"Energy absorption," I said. "Through skin-to-skin contact."

Emmett looked at me, then Bella, eyes going wide before she unknowingly zapped him and he fell to his knees.

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. We all stared at Emmett on his knees, not knowing quite what to say. And then Bella started crying, her small body shaking with sobs.

"What's happening to me?" she wailed, wringing her hands.

I could feel her anguish and overbearing fear. My first thought was to go to her and hold her, and Peter nudged me, suggesting that I do just that. But then, what if she zapped me too? I'd be on my knees beside Emmett, and there was no way that Jasper Whitlock would be on his knees in front of anyone. Instead of manning up like Peter wanted me to, I shoved my hands in my pockets. Yes, I know that I could have and should have reacted differently, but it is what it is. I am bastard, and had been one for over a hundred years; that kind of thing doesn't change overnight.

Besides, what did I care if she were upset? It wasn't like I could do anything about it anyway, right? And, just because she was my artificial mate didn't mean that I should be the one to comfort her; that was what Char and Rose were for, girl power and all of that female solidarity bullshit.

It took Emmett a few seconds to realize what had just happened to him before he jumped up, shaking himself like a wet dog.

"Wow lil sis, what the hell was that?" he asked, grinning. "That was so cool!"

Bella cried harder, turned around and ran out of the room. She slammed the bedroom door and I heard the mattress give under her weight as she flung herself down on the bed.

"Jasper!" Char yelled, punching me.

"What?" I snapped back.

"You should have said something to her!" Rose said.

"Why me? You two are her _home girls_," I argued.

"_You_ are her mate." Emmett pointed out.

"Only in the fake kind of way," I argued. Peter said nothing, just _tisked_ at me. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "What?"

"God, you are so unbelievable!" Char said, stomping off towards the bedroom.

"So I've been told," I said, smugly, wagging my eyebrows.

"Bella honey, let us in," Rose said, gently knocking on the door. "We just wanna see if you're okay."

"I'm fine. Please just go away," she mumbled, and broke down in sobs again.

I rolled my eyes, feigning indifference. No, I did not want to touch Bella and possibly get zapped again-my ego couldn't take that. But at the same time, I hated to hear her cry, especially over something that she had no control over and something that neither of us understood.

"C'mon over here and talk to her!" Rose ordered, waving me over to the door.

I sighed, scratching my head. If I didn't talk to her, I knew that Rose and Char would nag me to death for the next hundred years. I cleared my throat and knocked on the door.

"Bella, c'mon out and talk to us. We need to figure this out, and we can't if you're in there."

"But, I don't want to hurt anybody," she said.

"You don't have to worry about that, 'cause ain't nobody out here gonna even let you get close enough for you to touch them," I said.

We all heard Bella moan, and cry even louder.

"Jasper!" Rose said, punching me.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my arm. Emmett had been teaching her new fighting techniques, and the girl really knew how to pack a punch.

"You are one stupid son of a bitch!" Char yelled at me.

"How can you say that to her?" Rose demanded.

"That was really low Jasper," Emmett said. "You're a fuckin' empath. Aren't you supposed to be all like, I-feel-your-pain, and not let-me-kick-you-when-you're-down?"

"Who's kickin' who, I don't even want to touch her!" I argued, earning several slaps and punches from Rose and Char. I held my hands up in defense. "Em, Peter, you two had better check your women! Get them the hell away from me!"

The bedroom door opened and Bella stood there, staring at us with her arms folded. Her eyes were red, and she sniffed, wiping her nose on a tissue.

"Its okay girls, when my vamp powers kick in at maximum strength, I'm gonna whip his ass," she said, shooting eye daggers at me.

"I only said what everyone was already thinking."

"I wasn't thinking it," Peter said, taking Bella by the hand and pulling her over to the sofa. "In fact, I was thinking quite the opposite."

"The opposite?" I asked.

"Yes Major. How else would we even begin to find out how this new power works, or how to help Bella control it, if we don't touch her? Because, it's obvious that it doesn't work all the time," he said, holding Bella's hand in his own.

I perched on the side of an arm chair. "Okay, all great and knowing Master, how does it work then?"

"Well, when she touched you, what happened?" Peter asked me.

So the bastard was going to try to force me to tell everyone after all. "I dunno." I lied.

"Yes you do, what happened Major?" Peter demanded.

"Hey, watch your tone Lieutenant!" I said, reminding him that he was my second in command, not the other way around.

"I felt weak," Emmett said, speaking up in my place. "It was like a jolt of electricity in reverse or something."

"A jolt of electricity in reverse?" Rose asked.

"I can't explain it." Emmett shrugged. "It was a tiny shock when I first touched her, and then that went away along with everything else. I felt, drained."

"So it's not energy absorption," Char said.

"Well, that depends," Peter said. "How did you feel when you touched Em and Jasper?"

Bella thought for a minute, looking around at us. "It was like on TV, when they show someone getting electrocuted. I could feel it flowing through my body, but then out of me."

"Yeah, I would say that's an energy drain," Emmett said.

"And you're sure that it left you?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, 'cause if I absorbed it, wouldn't it make me strong or something?" Bella asked.

We all looked around at each other. "Good point," I said.

"Okay, so you touched Jasper and Emmett, and you both felt a zap. Their energy went through you and then out. But out to where?" Rose asked.

"It went nowhere," Peter said.

"Like batteries," Emmett said. "When the batteries on the TV remote die, the energy doesn't go anywhere; it's just gone."

"But, like you just said, when the batteries no longer work, we say that they're dead. If Bella zapped one of us for a long period of time, say she grabbed a hold of one of us and didn't let go while she was zapping us, would we eventually die?" Char asked.

"Oh no! No, no no! I don't want to kill anyone!" Bella cried, hugging a sofa pillow to her body.

"No honey, don't cry. Please," Rose begged, wrapping her arms around Bella.

"I think we need to call Carlisle," Emmett said.

"But if we tell Carlisle, then Eleazar will find out and tell Aro," I pointed out. "And then Aro will probably kill her instead of changing her."

Bella cried harder, and Char swatted me again.

"What? I'm just pointing out the realities of it!"

Peter stood up to pace. "Okay, settle down. All we have to do is figure out how this works, and then no one dies."

"Maybe it's tied to her emotions," Emmett offered.

"Maybe, but she's crying now, and Rose hasn't been zapped," Char said, nodding to Rose still holding Bella while she cried.

"Well, then maybe it's connected with her shield," Rose said. "Right before she zapped either one of you, could you detect her with your senses?"

I thought back to the moment when I felt weak, replaying the scene in my mind. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what I sensed about Bella at the moment she zapped me, because I was fighting with my demon, and _he_ usually takes control over everything when I'm in that mode.

"I dunno," I said.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Emmett asked. "Think about what happened."

"I am thinking about it, and I don't know!" I roared. "I wasn't in my usual frame of mind-"

"You were in Major mode," Peter said.

"So start at the beginning and tell us what happened," Emmett said.

Back to this again. Fine, I would tell them and suffer the shame. "Fine! That guy called Bella a bitch and he started to hit her. So I stepped forward to hit him, but Bella grabbed my arm."

"And then what?" Rose asked.

"Then I felt the zap."

"And?" Char asked.

"And I stumbled," I mumbled under my breath.

"You what?" Emmett said, trying to hide his smile.

"You heard me!" I yelled at him. "She touched me, I stumbled because I was already in motion to take him out, and then she punched that guy!"

"Whoa! You punched him?" Rose asked. "Float like a butterfly and sting like a Bella. Way to go girlie!"

Bella giggled, and I smiled at her. It was a beautiful sound, and—

Wait one fuckin' minute, what the hell was I thinking? Who cares how her laugh sounds? Certainly not me!

I got up to pace, turning my back on her. I didn't want to see her angelic face. Okay, enough of that shit. _Wake up Whitlock!_ _Her face is not angelic, it's just a regular face_, I kept telling myself.

I needed to change the subject, and get my mind back on track. "Well what did you feel from her?" I asked Emmett, already guessing the answer.

"I couldn't smell her or hear her heart beating or _feel _her."

"Exactly why I asked that," Rose said. "None of us could hear or smell her right before you hit the floor."

"But, even if it were attached to my shield, I don't know how to control that either," Bella said.

"Carlisle and I talked briefly about that, and he thinks that it's tied to your emotions like Em said earlier," Peter said. "That day in the meadow, when Jane was hurting your friend, you yelled at her to stop, and it did."

"And, when Jasper got hurt that day when Jake phased, it took us longer to find you, because we couldn't catch your scent or hear either one of you," Char said.

"So it works only in emergency situations?" Bella asked.

"That would make sense," I said. "When you detect danger, your shield comes up to protect you and whoever is near you from the danger."

Emmett snapped his fingers. "Then this energy zapping, draining thing really _is_ tied to your shield."

"How so?" Char asked.

"Bella just answered it! Her shield makes her invisible to our senses," Emmett said. "We can't hear her or smell her when she's got the shield up and Alice can't _See_ her; so it's not a physical thing. But, the skin zapping thing is, because she has to touch the target that's causing the danger. It's an extension of her shield! When she senses danger, she can throw the shield up and out over whoever is in danger. Or, she can zap them to protect herself."

"Yeah, but you aren't a threat to her, and she zapped you," Rose said.

"And neither is Jasper, but she zapped him," Char said.

"Yes, I am a danger to her," Emmett said.

On instinct, I growled at his admission.

"Down boy," Peter said to me. "But Em's right, we all are a danger to her. She is our natural food source. And, let's face it; humans are not naturally drawn to us because they can sense that we are different. Even though Bella is not wired like a normal human, she can still detect the danger that we can cause to her, so she uses her shield, and now the zapping, to protect herself. You must have been sensing something from Emmett when he touched you that caused you to protect yourself."

Emmett knelt down in front of her, taking her hands into his. "But Bells, you know that I wouldn't hurt you, right?"

She sniffed. "I know Emmy, but I think I was feeling a little anxious when you touched me. Maybe that's why I zapped you. I'm sorry."

"No harm baby girl. I'm still the same sexy beasts I've always been," Emmett said grinning.

Bella giggled again, but this time I found myself being a little…jealous? How could she be so relaxed with Emmett, yet treat me like a leper? It wasn't fair! But then again, why did I care?

_Oh yeah, that's right, I don't!_

"But that still doesn't explain how she could zap Jasper when _he_ was trying to protect _her_," Rose said.

"It's the mating bond thing, right?" Bella said. "I knew that he would be in danger of the Volturi if he hurt that kid…."

"…so you stopped me, to protect me from danger," I finished for her.

She nodded, silent tears trickling down her cheeks.

"It works both ways then," Char said. "Whether you're in danger, or to save someone else from danger."

"But how do I keep from…killing someone?" Bella asked, in a small voice.

"Well first of all, we don't know that you _can_ kill someone by zapping them honey," Rose said.

"I think we really need to talk to Carlisle," Peter said. "And possibly Eleazar too; I think he's more on our side than we know."

"What's his deal anyway?" Emmett asked. "Last time we saw him, he was livin' in Alaska with Carmen and her fine ass." Rose punched him. "Aww babe, that hurt. But seriously, now he's chillin' out with the head vamps in Volterra."

"I can't say for certain," Peter said. "But I think it's got something to do with a situation that happened a long time ago."

"So he's there against his will too," Bella said.

Peter shook his head. "I can't say," he repeated.

"I think that maybe we should do some drills with Bella first. Maybe just to see if our theory of her shield and the zapping thing tied to her emotions is really true," I said.

"So how are we gonna test that? Are you guys gonna jump out of the shadows and try to scare me to death to see if it works?" Bella asked.

I looked around at the guys, and they nodded along with me. "Yeah, that's about the gist of it."

**BPOV**

This was so not going to work.

Why couldn't five vampires that supposedly used one hundred percent of their brain power come up with a better plan than this?

I looked around my surroundings and shivered, not only because of the cold night air, but because of the creepy looking abandoned buildings looming over me. Peter had chosen the old industrial section of town right outside of the city limits of Colorado Springs to conduct my practice drills. While this part of town was no longer in use, the city apparently kept it clean, and the street lights working.

"Okay guys, we're clear within a three block radius," Emmett said, jogging up to us.

"Let's go over the plan again Bella," Peter said. "We're gonna be hidden somewhere within the three blocks. All you got to do is walk down the street and wait for one of us to jump out at you."

"Maybe we should try something else," I said.

"Like what?" Emmett asked.

"I dunno, but this just seems…creepy."

"We're the only ones here," Peter said. "No one is gonna hurt you, but in order to evoke fear into you, we have to make it seem real."

"I'm with Bella on this one," Char said. "I'm a vamp, and this place is still creepy to me."

"Me too," Rose agreed. "I don't think this is a good idea."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Let's just see if _this_ works first. We can do some other drills later if it doesn't."

Peter took me by the hand and started walking with me. "Listen Bells, count to two and we'll be gone. You just keep walking down the street here. Okay?"

"Wait," Emmett said. "Maybe you should go back to the hotel Jasper."

"What, why?" Jasper asked.

"Because if you're her mate, the first thing you're gonna do is to try to protect her, and then what? We'll be fighting you off instead of testing Bella's zapping skills."

"He's got a point Jazz," Rose said.

"I'm not gonna interfere," Jasper said. "Promise."

"Maybe you should wait at the other end of the industrial park just in case," Peter said.

Jasper huffed, and kicked a rock. It went through the side of a brick building. "Fine," he said, and stalked off.

"Emo much?" I said, watching him walk away. My eyes followed the way he moved, and despite the cool night air, I suddenly felt very warm. Seeing him walk away from me was almost as exquisite as seeing him walk toward me. He had a swagger that had my pulse racing. I licked my lips just thinking about it.

"Bella? Hello Bella?" Rose said, waving her hand in my face.

I turned back to the group and they were all smirking at my flustered expression. "What?"

Emmet grinned at me and nudged Peter. "Okay baby Bells, just clear your mind of all the lust filled thoughts that you just had and start walking."

"I don't have lust…I didn't…whatever!"

They all laughed at me, but I ignored them, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them again, I was alone. My steps echoed off of the empty buildings as I walked down the middle of the street. I noted how my breath seemed to hang in the air every time I exhaled, and I tried blowing rings like the smokers do when they smoke. It didn't work, but at least it kept my mind occupied for all of five seconds.

I pulled my arms further into the sleeves of my jacket and concentrated on not tripping over my own two feet should the need for me to run arise. A black cat crossed the street ahead of me, and I debated whether or not to turn around. I wasn't superstitious, but I barely understood half of the things that had happened to me in the last few days since I had met these people. Who knew what kind of bad luck that damned cat would bring me?

And, now there was something else to add to my ever growing pile of _whatthefuck?_ Just by _touching_ someone I could drain their energy. Why was this happening to me? Why couldn't I just be a normal human? That way, I could just be a normal vampire. But oh yeah, if I were a normal human, then there would be no need for me to even become a vampire!

I took another deep breath and concentrated on my surroundings. In the distance, I could hear the light fall of footsteps. I felt my heartbeat speed up, and my hands started to sweat. And then I recognized whose footsteps they were.

"Rose, I know it's you!" I laughed.

"Boo!" Rose yelled, jumping out of the shadows. "Did I scare ya?"

"Ooohh, I'm shakin' in my Chucks!" I said, laughing harder.

There was a gust of wind, and Char landed at my feet. She had been perched on top of a street light. "How'd you know it was Rose?"

"She walks softer than you do," I said.

"Huh? What in the world made you notice that, human?" Char asked.

I shrugged. "You tend to pick up on a few things when you grow up with a cop for a dad."

"Girls, you're interferin' with the drill!" Peter yelled, walking towards us.

"I told you that this wasn't a good idea!" Rose yelled back at him.

"Alright, alright!" Emmett said. "New plan; Rose, you and Char go wait in the car."

"What, no way!" Char protested.

"Yes way! Go wait in the car, 'cause it's obvious that you can't be trusted to help us conduct a proper drill," Peter said.

"That's because it's a stupid drill!" Rose shouted.

"Car! Now, woman!" Emmett said, pointing to where we had left the truck.

Rose and Char stomped off, bound under their own mating bond to obey.

"Okay Bells, let's try this again," Peter said. "Just keep walking down the street here."

"But—"

"Everything will be okay baby girl, just keep walking," Emmett said.

In a flash, they were gone, and my fear set in. Even though I knew that it was just Peter and Emmett, I felt more alone than I had been before. The moon was casting eerie shadows, and I jumped at every little sound.

_Just be calm Bella_, I kept telling myself.

And as I turned the corner, two monsters with red eyes, horns and fangs leapt out at me. What the fuck? With all of the strange, funky shit that I had witnessed in the last few days, no one ever said anything about monsters with horns and fangs! What the hell was this, an episode of Buffy? Because if it was, then the first thing I was going to do was to go after Aro with a wooden stake! What was I, some sort of monster magnet? I screamed like a banshee and took off running in the opposite direction.

I had barely made it twenty feet before I ran right into a wall. But this wall was built differently, because it had arms and was snarling at my attackers. As soon as I fell into Jasper, I zapped him and he dropped like a stone.

"Jasper! Get up, get up!" I screamed at him as I shook him. My attackers were advancing on us, and I needed Jasper to wake up. It hit me all of a sudden that the reason he wasn't getting up was because I was still touching, and _zapping!_ him. I released the hold I had on him, and stepped back, all the while yelling at his prone form. "Jasper, please get up! Get up! Please God, don't let him be dead! I didn't mean to kill him!"

But he didn't move.

And, they kept coming toward me.

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**A/N: Again guys, just trust me. I know that the monster thing seems out there, but it's not what you think. **

**Leave me some good lovin' reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**tHiRtEen**

**Thanks to my supa star beta's Cullen818 and JamesRamsey, who graciously allowed me to use her plasma for vamps idea! Thanks hunny bun!**

**Okay okay, I know that I suck at replying to reviews, but please forgive me, and continue to review anyway. Plus, I'm giving you a second chapter within a week, so that deserves some lovin', right?**

**SM owns it!**

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JPOV

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Carlisle yelled, pacing in front of us.

He had been pacing and yelling and cussing at us for the last two hours.

I moaned and clutched my head. The sound of his voice reverberated inside my skull, causing my head to throb even more. Who knew that vampires could have headaches? I had never thought about it before, but if were possible for us to hurt when we lost a limb or appendage, then surely it was possible for us to have a headache if we suffered severe trauma. And, last night had certainly been a traumatic experience for some of us.

"Honey, calm down. Bella is still sleeping," Esme reminded him.

"But Carlisle—" Emmett started, but stopped when Carlisle turned to look at him.

"I can't believe you all could be so stupid!" He stopped pacing right in front of me. "And you Jasper, I am disappointed in you the most. As her mate, I expected more out of you than any of these other numb-nuts!"

"Carlisle, please stop yelling," I begged him.

"Drink your blood and shut the hell up!" he yelled at me.

"I don't think it's working," I said, looking down into the hot steaming mug of O positive that I was holding. It was laced with plasma which, according to Carlisle, was supposed to speed the healing process. But since I wasn't injured, in my case it was supposed to restore my strength faster and make my head stop pounding.

"Alice, mix about ten percent more plasma in the next batch," Carlisle instructed her. "Peter, tell me what happened again. And I want every detail."

Peter looked up from the corner he had crawled into. I could feel the guilt rolling off of him. He felt that he was more responsible than any of us for the state that Bella was in. But actually, the blame rested on me. And Carlisle was right, _I_ was her mate, and _I_ should have been the one calling the shots.

"We thought that by scaring Bella, we could test her new gift. So—"

"—so you set her up and scared the hell out of the poor girl? Unbelievable! Between the five of you, you have how many degrees, and Ph.D's? And you Jasper, you're an empath, _and_ you have a doctorate in psychology! You know how the mind works, and yet you still put her in danger! What were you thinking?" Carlisle demanded. "Oh that's right, you weren't thinking at all!"

Esme jumped up and pulled her husband down to the sofa beside her. "Carlisle, calm down. Your anger is not helping Jasper."

He jumped back up. "I'm not too concerned with a hundred and forty seven year old vampire at the moment! I'm more concerned about what these fools did to my daughter!"

"Who cares about the stupid human, she's not one of us anyway," Alice mumbled under her breath.

Carlisle narrowed his eyes at Alice. "Didn't I tell you to start mixing the new batch of blood?"

Alice took a step back, eyes going wide at Carlisle's anger. "Yes."

"Then you'd better get to it missy!" he roared. "I'm not gonna tell you again! And, the way you've been acting lately, I wouldn't push my luck if I were you. Don't forget, we're still gonna have that talk."

If the situation wasn't so serious, I would have been laughing my ass off at the way Carlisle was rantin' and ravin', venom flying out of his mouth with his hair flopping in his eyes. When he started cutting off his words and using slang I knew, out of respect for his headship, to keep my mouth shut unless I was spoken to.

"Sit down!" Esme ordered him, and once he had done so, turned back to us. "And start at the beginning Peter."

Peter took a deep breath and told them about Brian, Bella's new found gift and what it had done to Emmett and I. Next, he told them about the conversation we had about her gifts, and the drill we had planned to test out our theory.

"So where did it go wrong?" Esme asked.

Emmett and Peter looked at each other, but it was Emmett who spoke up.

"It was my fault, because I knew that Jasper would try to protect Bella at all cost. So we made him—"

I cleared my throat. No one could _make_ me do anything.

Emmett raised an eyebrow at me, catching my meaning.

"Okay, so we _suggested_ that Jasper go to the other side of the industrial park so he wouldn't be in the way. Peter and I sent the girls back to the car, but we still knew that Bella wouldn't really be scared unless she knew that it wasn't us after her."

Peter took up the story next. "So we painted our faces and put in fake contact lens, and then glued on horns and fangs. We didn't think that she would get that upset."

"Well what exactly did you expect?" Rose asked.

"Let me get this straight," Esme said. "You take a _human_ who has recently been exposed to the supernatural, who has been ordered to be changed and become a part of said supernatural, and then dress up like monsters to scare her even further, simply to test out her powers? Powers that as a human, she's not supposed to have anyway!"

"Esme, calm down," Carlisle said, pulling her down to the sofa next to him.

"How did you even come up with this idea?" Char asked.

"One day I heard Bella telling Jasper about how she used to be afraid of monsters when she was little. Usually there is still one fear that people have that's carried over from childhood. I just figured that this may still be Bella's fear," Emmett said. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Well sorry isn't gonna help if that child is permanently damaged because of you idiots!" Carlisle yelled.

"She's not going to be damaged," I said, sniffing the mug Alice handed me. It didn't smell quite right. If she debated on telling me something that would have been life or death, who knew what else she had put in the cup beside plasma and blood?

"It's AB negative, and this batch is human," she said.

"I had to go to the blood bank," Carlisle explained.

"I don't want it," I said, pushing it back to her. The last human I had drunk from was Bella, and I didn't want the taste of anyone else in my mouth. The memory of her blood was too sweet to be marred by some random human.

"You have to get your strength back Jasper," Alice said. "Lord knows you'll need it until we can get rid of _her_."

"No one is getting rid of her!" I snarled at Alice.

"I mean until we can ship her off to the Volturi of course," she said sweetly.

I could feel her malicious intent, and I grabbed her arm, pulling her down close to my chair. "Stay away from Bella, Alice. I'm not gonna to tell you again." I pushed the mug into her hand. "And mix the plasma with animal blood, because I'm sure as hell not drinkin' this shit."

"Just go remix another batch Alice," Esme said.

Alice huffed and stomped off.

"So what happened when you two jumped out of the shadows dressed like monsters?" Char asked.

"Bella got a little emotional," Emmett said.

"More like she flipped the fuck out," I said. I had agreed to them scaring her, but I didn't know about the monster stunt that they had planned, and it pissed me off. I wouldn't have let them take it that far. Bella had told me about her childhood fears in secrecy, and I was mad as hell that they had taken that information and used it.

"I heard her screamin', and it was a different kind of scream, like distress and anguish. So I took off to find her. She ran right into me, and zapped me on contact. Right before I fell to the ground I saw these dickheads coming after her, but because she was still holdin' onto me, and draining me, I couldn't even speak to her to tell her that it was these idiots underneath the makeup and shit they had on.

I ran my hands through my hair, clutching my pounding skull again. "God, she was screamin' so fuckin' loud." To be honest, the sound of her screaming like that ripped through my chest like a dagger. "She must have realized that she was still drainin' me, and let me go. I got just enough strength back to feel her shield slippin', and then I knocked her out with a strong shot of lethargy."

"And then you passed out again from the power drain," Peter said.

"Well at least we know that she can't kill anyone with her new gift," Rose said.

Carlisle began to pace again. "I don't know about that Rose. What if she hadn't let go of Jasper when she did? Would it have killed him? I'll have to do some research on it."

"Wait a second, how did we hear her screamin' if her shield was up?" Emmett asked, looking around the room. "'Cause even when Alice found them in the meadow, neither of us heard them, until we _saw_ them."

Carlisle thought about it for a moment. "I don't know Emmett, and we may never have all of the answers. As a human, she's not supposed to be able to do even half of the things that she has already done. It may very well remain a mystery."

"Do you think Bella's gonna be okay?" I asked. Earlier, I had been certain that she was going to be okay until I remembered the horrified expression on her face when she was begging me not to die.

"Bella is one badass chick, of course she'll be okay," Char said confidently.

"We'll need to be careful with her for the next couple of hours," Carlisle said. "I don't want either of you in her face bothering her. Someone will need to gently explain what happened, and if I know anything about Bella, I know that she's not going to be happy about what you did to her."

"I'll explain it to her," I said. "But Carlisle is right, the rest of you just need to stay away from her for a while." I looked at Emmett and Peter, giving them that I'll-fuck-you-up look if they went against what I said. They both nodded and dropped their heads in shame.

Esme looked at her watch. "She's been sleep for nearly twelve hours. Maybe you should wake her Jasper."

"I'm not keepin' her under anymore," I said. "She drained me of everything I had, and it's a struggle right now to just_ feel_ all of you."

"No," Carlisle said. "Let her rest. Her mind will need to repair itself, and it does that best when there is no outside stimuli interfering. We should all go hunting in the meantime. I'll call Edward, and tell him and Eleazar to meet us outside of the city limits."

"Someone should stay with Bella," Char said.

"I will, I'm not up to huntin' anything right now anyway," I said, accepting another mug from Alice. I sniffed it again to make sure that it was animal blood. "Plus, I've got my food right here."

The real reason that I didn't want to go hunting with the family was because I had a few errands to run. Jenks, the man who I had hired to settle Bella's personal affairs in Seattle had finished cleaning out her apartment and, at my request, had boxed and shipped some of her childhood mementos to the post office in Colorado Springs. I needed to pick up the box and a few other things for Bella before she woke.

I was tired of the fighting that we had been doing, and after my brothers' antics the night before, I needed something to soften the blow when I told Bella what had happened. Not only for that reason, but honestly, the idea of Bella was starting to grow on me. No, I didn't want to be mated to anyone, especially someone who Aro already had dibs on, but there was no harm in being friends with her, right? There was no law stating that even after she became a part of the Volturi Guard, that I couldn't keep in contact with her, or even possibly visit her, right?

Plus, having a sexy friend that just happened to be a girl always had its advantages!

**BPOV**

I was too hot. In fact, it felt like I was being roasted alive.

_So this is what hell feels like_, I thought.

I killed Jasper, and now I was being punished for it for the rest of eternity.

_Please God forgive me, I didn't mean to kill him._

And then I felt something cold brush across my face, like ice on a hot surface. I turned my face toward the cool feeling and sighed in relief.

"That's it Bella, just relax and let me take care of you."

I opened my eyes to see Edward standing over me. I jumped slightly, pushing his hands away. How did I get into bed, and how long had I been sleep?

"Edward—" I clutched my sore throat. My voice was practically gone, reduced to just a whisper. What was going on? Oh yeah, I had screamed so much the night before that I had lost my voice. And then it hit me why I had been screaming. I buried my face into Edward's shirt, twisting it in my fists as I started to cry.

"Shh, calm down my Bella. Everything is okay."

I wiped the tears off of my cheeks. "I didn't mean to do it…I didn't mean to do it!"

Edward sat down on the side of the bed, his weight causing the mattress to dip. He caught me as I rolled into him. "Sweetheart, calm down." He reached for the box of tissues on the nightstand. "Here love, blow your nose." He then ran to the bathroom and brought back a wet washcloth, gently washing my face. "Better?"

I nodded. "Edward, those monsters were after me. You guys never mentioned monsters when you were telling me all about vampires. Maybe this is something new. Maybe they were zombies!"

"Silly Bella, zombies don't exist."

"Yeah, neither do vampires, right?" I asked.

If vampires weren't supposed to exist, and they did, wouldn't it stand to reason that zombies could exist too?

"Okay, good point. But—"

"Did Em and Peter get there in time?"

"In time for what, love?" Edward asked, dabbing at my tears with the tissue.

"I…I think I…killed Jasper! I didn't mean to kill him, I didn't mean it. I…I was so scared, and…and I…I couldn't let go…I…I…" I collapsed onto the mattress, crying pounding my fists into a pillow. "He's gone…I killed him…I'm a murderer!"

"Bella love, Jasper's not dead."

"Yes he is; he wouldn't get up. No matter how much I begged him to, he just laid there. I took too much out of him, and he wouldn't get up!"

Edward flipped me over and sat me up, shaking me a little to get my attention. "Bella, listen to me. Jasper is alive. I promise you that he is alive and well. I wouldn't lie to you love, don't you trust me?"

"B-but h-how can that b-be? I saw him lying there. The monsters got him. I saw them!"

"The monsters were Emmett and Peter, love. It was all a part of their plan to scare you."

"What plan?" I asked, confused.

"Jasper knew that you wouldn't really be scared knowing that it was just the guys that were gonna jump out at you and if he were around to protect you. So, he told them to paint their faces, put in the red contacts, horns and fangs, and come after you."

"No, that can't be Edward. Jasper wouldn't do that to me. He knows that I used to have nightmares as a kid of monsters in my closet!" In between all of the drama that had been going on since I had met the Cullen's and the Volturi, Jasper and I had been able to talk a little bit about our lives. I briefly had told him a few things about my childhood, and that had been one of the things.

"I'm sorry to say, but it is true my darling."

"Jasper is alive?"

"He is," Edward said, holding onto me.

"And he set me up to be scared like that?" I asked.

Edward dropped his head. "I hate to say it, but yes. Jasper is the one who orchestrated the entire plan."

I shook my head, not wanting to believe what Edward was telling me. How could Jasper do that to me? Would he really run tell his brothers the things that I had told him in secret? He was supposed to change me, and start training me in a matter of days. All of that required trust, right? And now how would I be able to ever trust him again? "Maybe you got it wrong Edward."

"Who else did you tell about your childhood nightmares?" Edward asked.

"No one," I said softly.

"Exactly."

I held onto Edward, and started to cry again. From the way Jasper was acting earlier, I thought he had finally started to become receptive to, if not the whole mating thing, then at least _me_. I could no longer deny that I felt something for him, and up until now, I thought he was beginning to feel it too.

I guess I was wrong, because if you have feelings for someone, they don't tell your secrets.

"It's okay love, I'm here for you. You can trust me, I swear," Edward said.

"Edward?"

"Yes love?" he asked.

"Will you stop calling me 'love'? It sounds so corny."

"Uh, okay."

I blew my nose and dried my tears. "Jasper is gonna really need to watch his back when I become a vamp, 'cause I'm gonna kick his ass so hard that he's not gonna know what hit him!"

Edward laughed. "I love how straightforward you are love- I mean, Bella."

For the first time I realized that the hotel suite was unusually quiet. "Where is everybody?"

"They are all out hunting."

"Why aren't you with them?"

"I felt that someone needed to stay behind in case you woke and needed something. Jasper said that he didn't want to be bothered, so I stepped up and volunteered. Is that okay?"

"Jasper didn't want to be bothered with me?" I asked.

"Honestly, I think he needed a little alone time with Alice. You know they are talking about reconciling?"

Was that a rusty dagger being plunged into my beating heart? "Oh, no I didn't know that. How long have they been a part?"

"Well let's see, they were married-"

"Married! Are you kidding me?" I forgot to whisper, and my voice sounded like frogs croaking. It caused a tickling sensation in the back of my throat, and I fell into a coughing fit. Edward ran out to the mini bar and brought back a bottle of water for me.

"Here, drink up." He shifted, and sat with his back against the headboard, next he kicked off his shoes and crossed his feet at the ankle.

"Alice and Jasper were married?" I asked, when I could whisper again. Talk about twisting the dagger even further.

Edward nodded. "For about fifty years."

"Fifty years!" I yelled.

"Bella, please stop doing that to your poor throat. Maybe I should just let you rest some more."

"No, stay with me. Please." I took another sip of water. "So Jasper wants to get back together with Alice?"

"Honestly, I don't think they've ever stopped sleeping with one another."

"Oh," I said, and fought back the tears. Alice was a pretty girl, who had outstanding fashion sense, experience in a carnal way, and she was already a vampire. I could see why Jasper liked—or loved—her. What would he want with little ol' boring virginal me? I had been so wrong about everything between Jasper and I. How in the hell did I get myself into this mess? "Oh."

"Are you okay Bella?" Edward asked, intently looking at me.

I tried to brush it off. "Yeah, I'm cool."

He grinned. "Good, because I've got a present for you."

"A present, for me?"

He nodded. "Stay right here and close your eyes. Okay?"

I started to protest. "Edward-"

"Please, for me Bella," he begged.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh alright."

He was gone and back before I could even take the next breath.

"Okay, open them," he said eagerly.

It was a large box with silver wrapping paper and a blue bow on top. "What is it?"

"Open it up silly girl."

Not one to gently open my presents, I ripped the paper from the box, throwing it everywhere. Next, I picked the tape loose and tilted the box so that I could finally peer inside.

"Edward, you didn't!" I whisper-yelled excitedly. A huge grin appeared on his face, and his hair fell in his eyes. I reached out and pushed it back off of his forehead. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "We all have one or two things left over from when were human. I thought that since you had a few days until your change, that I would go by your apartment on campus and get some of your stuff. There's no reason for you to not have your things too. I left the bulk of it back at the house though."

Edward helped me turn the box over, and I rooted around in the pile of things on the bed. He had gotten my IPod, my photo albums, the scarf that my grandmother had knitted for me the year she died, the pocket knife that Jake gave me right before I graduated high school, the quilt that Charlie had ordered to be made for me out of the tee shirts from our summer trips together, and the list went on and on.e He

"This is so sweet," I cried. "Thank you so much Edward, this is just wonderful!"

"Don't cry beautiful Bella," Edward said, hugging me to his chest.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to be so emotional."

Edward slightly pulled back to look into my eyes. He framed my face with his hands and wiped away my new tears with his thumbs. "You don't have to apologize to me for your emotions Bella. You are entitled to feel however you want, and in fact, I think that a woman who knows how to express herself as well as you is extremely sexy."

I was grateful that Edward was being so kind, and that he wanted to stay behind for me when Jasper didn't, but the way he was looking at me, and his close proximity was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. I knew that there must be some sort of deep seeded rift between Jasper and Edward, and if Jasper was going to be my vampire mentor, then I didn't want to add to that rift by encouraging Edward.

I tugged on his wrist with my hands. "Edward, I—"

"I must confess Bella, I've never felt like this toward anyone. I'm attracted to you, drawn to you in numerous ways."

My head suddenly felt fuzzy, and I was slightly confused. I knew that I needed to push Edward away, but I couldn't remember exactly why.

"I-I don't think…maybe…Edward…stop…"

He leaned forward, brushing his lips across my cheek. "Shh Bella, just relax. Let me make you feel good."

I pushed against Edward's chest. "Edward…stop…I-"

"I know you feel it too baby."

How did I get myself into this situation, on my back with Edward on top of me, his lips at my throat? I pushed against him with everything I had, but it was like a feather pushing against a brick wall.

I tried to scream, but it came out a whisper. Why oh why couldn't I figure out how to zap this mothafucka off of me? It worked when I didn't want it to, and then when I needed it the most, I was all out of zap! I struggled against him again. "Edward please-"

"Yeah, that's right baby, you feel so good moving against me like that!"

Maybe if I concentrated really hard, then I could make this zapping thing work, I thought. I closed my eyes and clenched my entire body, willing my hands to work their magic.

And, I got nothing.

_Nothing!_

Edward was grinding against my hip and I was getting really grossed out with all of his 'gruntin' and moanin'. Who did he think he was turning on with his hip swiveling and his 'ooh's' and 'ahh's'? I mean, c'mon, really? I rolled my eyes at his lame efforts to seduce me.

Okay, so since I couldn't zap him, I decided to try another tactic.

"Edward," I said.

"Yeah baby?"

"Get your half inch dick off of me!" I screamed directly in his ear with my raspy voice.

He hesitated for a second, and then rolled off of me. "You're turning _me_ down?" He asked, almost like he couldn't believe it.

"What makes you think that _I_ would want anything to do with _you _anyway?"

"But I'm Edward Cullen."

He said it as if my clothes should automatically fall off at his feet just because he was _Edward Cullen!_

"And I'm the fuckin' Easter Bunny! GET. OUT!" I shouted, pointing at the door.

Edward blinked a couple of times and stood there staring at me like he couldn't believe that I was throwing him out of my bedroom. He stopped at the door, turned and looked at me.

"So you turn me down because you think Jasper is gonna pay you some attention?" He threw his head back and laughed. "Jasper's got Alice. She's beautiful, smart, she doesn't need someone to dress her." He picked up a shirt that Rose had bought for me and tossed it aside. "And she won't drain him when he fucks her. What do you have? Nothing. You have nothing and no one. You think that by running around the country doing the shit on your bucket list that that will somehow make your life exciting and meaningful. In reality, the only thing it makes you is sad and pathetic."

"Shut up!"

"Why? Because you know I'm right?"

"You're wrong."

"Really? Your own mother doesn't want anything to do with you, why would anyone else?" He laughed again, and left, slamming the door behind him.

I sat in the middle of the bed, stunned by Edward's words, and angry that Jasper had apparently told another one of my secrets.

In a way, Edward was right. The day Charlie died was the day I lost any one that cared about me. Even though I still had a parent living, I was left practically an orphan. My mother took me in to live with her only out of obligation, and because Charlie had left a nice insurance policy naming me as his sole beneficiary.

I wiped away the tears that dripped off of my chin, and threw back the sheets. I realized that it was ridiculous for me to be sitting around, feeling sorry for myself and waiting to die.

I dumped out the back pack of new clothes that Rose had bought me and started filling it up with the items from the box. Next, I took a quick shower, making sure to scrub the Edward funk off.

I was smart, and funny, and loveable dammit! _And, I don't have to die_, I thought.

Sad and pathetic, my ass! I was special, even the undead head vamp said that. I didn't know how this shield thing worked, and apparently I couldn't zap someone on command, but that didn't mean I couldn't figure it out on my own. I didn't need these people, these vampires.

And, if they couldn't find me, then they couldn't kill me. Right?

* * *

**A/N: Okay guys, please just continue hanging in there with me on this one. Yes, it is a J & B fic, and they will eventually get together, but these two have to realize a few things first. Leave me some love! Reviews make me write faster, and you just may get a teaser if you do review!**


	11. Chapter 11

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**Chapter 11**

**Thanks so much for all of your fantastic reviews. Knowing that you guys are reading really helps keep me motivated to write.**

**Many thanks to my beta girls! You two are wonderful!**

**This one has a little citrus in it **wink wink****

**SM owns it!**

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JPOV

It was a cloudy day in Colorado Springs with sporadic rain showers predicted, and as I wandered around town I couldn't help but think about my Bella. I had never been one to wander around any place, so I knew I needed to get my shit straight before I went back to the hotel to wake her.

There was no doubt in my mind that Bella was going to be pissed to the highest level of pissitivity when she realized what the guys had done to her. Yes, their intentions were good, but they failed to realize one thing about Bella—she was human, and had only been a part of our family for a few days now. She wasn't used to the lack of privacy that came with living in a house full of super hearing vampires. We all had had decades to get used to one another, and sometimes it was still problematic living with so many people. We unknowingly invaded each other's personal space on a regular basis, and thought nothing of it.

But, Bella was different. She grew up as an only child with a flighty mother and a by-the-book police officer for a father. She didn't even share her on campus apartment with anyone. I knew that she had a few close friends, but nothing she had ever done in her short life would prepare her for the Cullen's, and life as a vampire.

And truthfully, nothing that had ever happened in my long life had prepared me for the force that was Isabella Swan.

The very thought of her twisted my insides around, and not in a bad way. She made me nervous, she made me question my manhood, she made me laugh and she made mad as hell at the same time. How could one little human turn my world upside down so fast? How could one little human make me want to be a better vampire?

_De-Nile was_ not only a river in the Egypt; I had been living in it and swimming in it for the last few days now. I was not fully ready to admit out loud that I had stronger feelings for Bella other than friendship, but I would at least admit that there was something brewing. And, I had no clue as to what to do about it.

It wasn't like I could profess my undying love for her, or go jump her bones as soon as she woke up. And, I wasn't one for wooing a girl. My idea of romance was taking out the garbage before Alice yelled at me to do it. My lack of skills in the Rico Suave department was just one of the many reasons why Alice and I broke up. She nagged me to death about being spontaneous, and doing things without being told to do them. The truth of the matter was that if she hadn't nagged me so much, or criticized me so harshly when I did do those things, I may have been more inclined to do them for her.

I was racking my brain about how to proceed with Bella when it caught my eye. It was sitting in one of those trinket shops that sell sterling silver engraveable junk. Bella wasn't one for a lot of jewelry, and she wasn't into the name brand, designer shit that Alice was always spending her alimony checks on. But, when I saw it, I knew that Bella would like it, and appreciate it for what it was.

Since the weather was so bad, there weren't many people in the shop when I went in, and it only took a little bit of my dazzling personality directed at the chick behind the counter to move my order to the front of the line.

Twenty minutes later, I was out of the shop and headed toward the post office to pick up Bella's other box.

"May I help you sir?" the postmaster asked me.

"Yes, I have a package on hold here for a Jasper Whitlock," I said, handing him the little orange slip of paper.

The postmaster accepted the slip but didn't attempt to go find my package. "I'm sorry sir, but this package has already been delivered." He handed the slip back to me.

"Oh, I assumed that I would need to pick it up. So it was delivered to the hotel?"

The postmaster flipped through his delivery records. "No sir, it shows that it was signed for here in the lobby at 1 pm." He flipped the book around to show me the signature.

My name, signed by no other than Edward fuckin' Cullen!

I had been so caught up in thinking about my Bella that I had failed to take heed of my surroundings. I could smell Edward's scent in the lobby, and all over the delivery record book. If he had signed for the package at 1 pm that gave him nearly a two hour head start in seducing Bella.

Before I exposed myself by hurling the book through the wall, I gently placed it back on the counter and left the post office at a normal human walking pace. I still didn't have my strength back to maximum level, but when it came down to it, I was ten times stronger than Eddie boy on my worst day.

The hot flames of a funeral pyre were too good for Edward. I would dismember him piece by piece and hide the twitching parts all over the globe. As I neared the hotel, I zeroed in on Edward's emotional wavelength. Lust was pouring off of him so strong that I had to concentrate on not projecting it onto the pedestrians on the street. Colorado Springs did not need a massive street orgy in the middle of the day.

Next, I heard him grunting and moaning.

"_Edward please!"_

"_Yeah, that's right baby, you feel so good moving against me like that!" Edward said._

Was that an 'Edward please do it again' or an 'Edward please get the fuck off of me'? Wait one fucking minute! I had been so caught up in Edward's emotions that I had completely ignored the other emotions coming from the room. He was gruntin' and moanin' and she was just as excited as he was.

I knew that Bella wasn't experienced in the sexin' department, and everybody's idea of pleasure was different, but why the hell would she choose Edward? Of all people, Edward? And, over _me_? Oh hell no!

It didn't matter; I would rip him apart and ask questions later. She was my mate, and no one touched what was mine! She was fuckin' MINE! I doubled my pace and took the stairs to the fourth floor instead of waiting on the elevator.

I didn't even stop to think about the consequences of throwing a vampire out of the window of a high class hotel when I ripped the door off of its hinges and tossed it across the room. The sight of his pale naked ass in the air set my venom to boil. Apparently he didn't even hear the door being ripped off the hinges, because he kept right on pumping away.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I yelled.

He stopped, half way in, half way out and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Do you mind? I'm kinda in the middle of something here," he said calmly.

The top of her head popped up, and all I could see was her curly brown hair.

_BELLA!_

Newspaper headline: '_Vampire Slaughters Two in a downtown Colorado Springs Hotel'_

"Who is that Eddie?" she said in a sing song voice.

Wait a minute, my Bella doesn't sound like that!

"That's no one baby," Edward said. "Now lie back down and shut up."

She pushed him up and off of her, and snatched off the brown wig in the process. Her stringy blond hair tumbled down over her shoulders. "You said that it would just be the two of us. If he's gonna join in, then that's gonna cost you extra!"

At seeing Edward naked, I felt sick to my stomach. Was that even possible for a vampire?

"Where is Bella, and who are you?" I demanded.

"I'm Trixie, and what's a Bella?" the girl asked, sliding out of bed naked. She came to stand in front of me, hands on her naked hips. "You're kinda cute. Tell ya what, I'll give you a half rate deal as soon as I'm finished with him." She reached out to run an electric blue fingernail down the front of my shirt.

I took a step back, thought better of it, and took another couple of steps back. I made a mental note to ask Carlisle if vampires could catch crabs, the clap or some other kind of nasty funky STD. "Uh, no thanks. Edward, where is Bella?"

He got up on his knees and crawled across the bed, pulling Trixie down to the mattress in front of him. "I don't know, and I don't care." He slammed himself into her, and she groaned, pushing her ass back into him. "Fuck baby, how do you keep yourself so tight?"

"How do you stay so hard? Unff!" she screamed.

"Edward!" I said, trying to get his attention.

"What? I'm fuckin' busy right now!" he shouted, punctuating each word with a thrust of his hips.

I think I threw up in my mouth a little.

"Fuckin' busy, busy fuckin'!" Trixie sang, and then moaned, throwing her head back. "Oh God, right there baby!"

Yup, I was definitely gonna be sick. "Where is Bella?" I yelled over her moaning.

He blew the hair out of his face and took his eyes off of his dick inside of her long enough to look at me. "I don't know. I was here; she was here. I left, and when I came back she was gone."

"Gone?" My chest actually hurt at his words, and I felt that tugging sensation that I'd been getting when Bella was physically apart from me.

"Look man, Imma get blue balls here if I don't finish. And yeah, she was gone; packed her shit and left. Now can I get on with this?" He slapped Trixie on the ass and she squealed like a little piglet.

I stood there and looked around the room, noticing that everything Bella had was gone, including the items in the box that I was supposed to be picking up at the post office.

"How long ago was that?" I asked, ignoring the box for now. Edward would pay for that later.

"Damn girl, your tits feel so good. Where did you get 'em done?" Edward asked.

"Dr. McDreamy, down the street!" she panted. "Yeah, that's it!"

"Edward! How long ago was it that she left?" I yelled at him again.

"An hour or so. Fuck, I think I'm cumming!"

That was my cue to get the hell out of there. Seeing Edward cum was not something I wanted emblazoned into my brain for the rest of eternity. I had already seen more of him in two minutes than I had seen of him in the last fifty years.

I looked around the living room area, searching for clues as to where Bella could have gone. She had left nothing behind; not even her scent. If she was shielding, then it would be damn near impossible to find her.

X-X-X-X

"What do you mean she's gone?" Esme yelled at me, pacing across the floor. "You said that you were going to stay with her!" We had switched hotel suites. There was no way I was going back into that room after what I had seen Edward doing in it.

"I mean she's not here. I've looked all over town, and I can't catch her scent anywhere. I've called her a gazillion times, and she's either ignoring her phone, or she turned it off."

"Oh God, she's out there by herself, and it's getting dark," Rose said.

"Good riddance," Alice mumbled under her breath.

Emmett moved toward Alice before I could, and clamped a hand on her shoulder. "Not another word, elf."

"Bella's tough, remember?" Char said, draping an arm around Rose. "She'll be okay."

"Start at the beginning and tell us what happened," Carlisle said.

I took a deep breath. I didn't think I had ever been as worried as I was at the moment. My inner little Jasper was curled up in a corner somewhere rocking himself back and forth with worry. And, since I had spent what energy I had recently recouped looking for my Bella, it was taking what energy I did have to not project him on to everyone else. We didn't need to all be basket cases. "I went out to the post office to get the package Jenks sent. When I got back, she was gone."

"Just like that?" Esme asked. "That doesn't make sense. Why would she just leave like that? And why would you leave her here by herself?"

"I was only gonna be gone for a minute. I didn't think she would wake up!" I looked over at Edward, who was sitting by the window being unusually quiet. "What did you say to her?" I demanded.

"Nothing," he said.

I could feel him lying. "You're lying!" I yelled at him. I could also feel his guilt.

"Jasper, why would you accuse your brother of lying? If he knew something, you know that he would tell us," Carlisle said.

"No, I don't think he would, especially if it made him look bad," I said, moving toward him. I could feel him trying to hide his emotions, and I didn't like that one bit. He had more to do with this than he wanted me to know.

"What are you talking about?" Esme asked.

"Tell them what you were doing when I came back in here Eddie," I said, grabbing Edward by the collar and slamming him into the wall. "And then tell us what you said to Bella to make her leave!"

"Get off of me!" Edward yelled, and pushed me away from him. "I had a friend with me when Jasper came back in here. As for Bella, I have no idea where she went!"

"You lying son of bitch!" I roared, and went after him again.

"Jasper!" Carlisle yelled, grabbing me around the waist. "Get yourself under control!"

"Will you two please stop fighting long enough for us to figure this out? Arguing among yourselves is not helping us find Bella," Esme said. "Now Edward, you know someone here in Colorado Springs?" Esme asked.

"His dick knows someone in Colorado Springs," Peter mumbled.

He shrugged. "I know a girl. But, she has nothing to do with Bella!"

"What did you say to her Edward?" I asked again. That was the last time I was going to ask him anything. The next time, I would be putting my foot up his ass, and there wasn't a damn thing Carlisle could do about it.

"We talked about her mother, and she got upset. That's all," he said.

I could feel that he was at least telling the truth about that, but there was something more. I knew Bella didn't like to talk about her mother, and she wouldn't have just carried on a conversation about her without provocation. And, she especially wouldn't be freely talking to _Edward_ about her mother issues.

"Why were you talking about her mother? What did you do?" I demanded, struggling with Carlisle to get free. If he had hurt my Bella by throwing her mother issues in her face, then heaven help him, I would torture him using one match at a time. I would burn his fingers off one by one, next his toes, his balls and then his dick.

"Maybe she went to see her," Char suggested.

He shrugged causally, like he didn't care one way or the other. "I didn't do anything, and I didn't say anything."

"You're fucking lying!" I shoved Carlisle off of me and went for Edward again, knocking him down. We had our hands around each other's throats, and I was knocking his head against the floor. "Get the matches Peter!"

"Stop it, just stop it!" Esme yelled. She reached down and ripped my ear right the fuck off.

I screamed in pain, grabbing my ear hole. "What the fuck!"

She bent down and ripped Edward's ear off next.

"MOM!" Edward shouted. "How could you do that to me?"

"Neither of you are listening any damn way. Now just shut up and let's figure this all out!" She yelled at us, breathing hard. "Now Jasper, why do you think Edward had something to do with Bella leaving?"

I took a deep breath, and dabbed at the leaking venom. "Can I have my ear back please?"

"No, start talking."

"Until she woke up, she probably thought I was dead. I know that she wouldn't leave until she saw that I was okay. And, why was Edward here when he was supposed to be out huntin' with you guys? Besides, she wouldn't just up and leave me like that."

"How would you know that she wouldn't just leave? She's nothing to you, or us for that matter, but a burden. I'm sure she knows that, and decided to do the best thing for all of us," Alice said.

"I thought Em told you not another word," I said. I was thankful that I was holding my ear hole closed, because one more word from her and I was sure to lose my shit on everyone. I had never, ever harmed a woman before, but Alice was pushing my buttons. "I don't _think_ she would go alone." At least she wouldn't go unless someone provoked her to. I looked at Edward and he turned away from me, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Why wouldn't she?" Alice asked. "It's not like you're her BFF or something."

"That's it," Rose said, grabbing Alice's arm. "Imma 'bout ready to put my fist through your pie hole. Jasper's too much of a gentleman to do it, even though I know he's thinkin' about it. So shut it up now, or suffer by _my_ hands later."

"You don't understand," I said, looking around at everyone. "Bella and her mother have a complicated relationship. She wanted me to be there for her when she confronted her mother."

"We have a problem," Eleazar said, hanging up the phone.

"What it is old friend?" Carlisle asked.

"Jane, Alec and Demetri are still on the continent. If they find her first, I know that they will not hesitate to kill her."

I jumped up. "What? They didn't leave with Aro?"

Eleazar shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It seems as if he doesn't trust me too much, so they are keeping an eye on me while I keep an eye on you all."

"How do you know that they are still here?" Char asked.

"My daughter Irina is friends with Aro's human secretary Gianna, who also happens to be dating Demetri."

"So Aro is watchin' you, and you're watchin' him?" Emmett asked. "Why?"

"Because I don't trust him either," Eleazar said simply.

"Why are you with Aro and his posse anyway?" I asked.

Eleazar and Carlisle exchanged looks. "It's a long story," he said.

"Shorten it then," I said. I needed to know whose side he was on. If he were on Aro's, then there was a good possibility that I would have to kill him to protect Bella. If not, then the decision to let him live or die would come later, once she was found safe.

"Jasper, you will be courteous to guest within our company," Esme scolded.

"I need to know if he's a threat to my Bella or not," I said.

"_Your_ Bella?"Char asked.

"What?" I looked around at my family. They had the silliest looking grins on their faces. "What?" I asked again.

"You said 'my Bella'," Peter said.

"And, what's your point?"

"You're all of a sudden actin' like she's your mate," Alice said.

"News flash Alice, she _is_ my mate. And, we have to find her!" I yelled, clutching my chest. I didn't know what hurt more, the tugging in my chest, or my gaping ear hole.

"Well, it's good to see you take your mating responsibilities seriously for a change, but don't you think it's a little too late given that you mate is missing in action?" Carlisle asked, chastising me. "If you had been acting responsibly in the first place, none of this would have ever happened."

"I know that I screwed up, but if he leads them to her, and they hurt her-"

"That's not going to happen," Eleazar said. "I don't want any harm to come to your Bella."

"Then start explainin'," I said.

"Fine, I'll give you the short version of the story. You've heard of the immortal children?" I nodded and he continued. "Well, it's not a widely known fact that Carmen and Sasha were sisters. When Aro ordered Sasha to be killed, he also ordered Carmen to be killed as well. But he spared her because of me. I asked him to give her to me as my mate. He agreed, but with one condition, every two hundred years, I have a fifty year sentence to serve with the Guard."

"Fifty years?" Rose asked, moving closer to Emmett. "You have to be away from Carmen for fifty years?"

He nodded, and smiled sadly. "It's not so bad; we have two hundred years in between time to get on each other's nerves."

"How much longer do you have to serve this go 'round?" Peter asked.

"Forty seven more," he said softly, his eyes shining brightly.

I felt his despair, and the longing he felt to be with his mate. Or was that the way _I _was feeling? No, it couldn't be because Bella and I didn't have that type of relationship. I just wanted to make sure that she was safe. That's all, right?

"It's either one way or the other," Peter whispered to me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You either feel it, or you don't," he said. "Make up your fuckin' mind Major."

I quirked an eyebrow at him, but he turned away. The fucker was always being cryptic about shit, and it was starting to piss me off.

"Do you get to see each other during the fifty years?" Char asked.

"Once a year, unless I'm on assignment close to home."

"Which is why you volunteered to supervise Bella's transformation," I said, answering the obvious. "Because it was close to home."

"Yes, but despite all of that, I can see how much she means to you and your family. I genuinely want to help," he said.

"She doesn't mean that much to all of us," Alice mumbled.

"One more word," Rose warned, giving Alice's arm a squeeze.

"So what do we do?" Esme asked.

That was the million dollar question. How do you track someone who could disappear in plain sight?

"There's got to be a way to track her," Carlisle said. "She doesn't know how to control her shield at a consistent rate, so she has to be slipping in and out of it periodically. We all need split up and each take a section of the city."

"We just have to be at the right place at the right time," Emmett said.

"No, you're all wrong. That would take forever. Edward and I just have to find the right person who's seen her," I said, looking at him. If he refused to help me, I would rip off more than just his foot. And as soon as I found Bella and heard what really happened between them, a fucked up ear would be the least of his problems.

"What are you getting at Jasper?" Carlisle asked me.

"We can't smell her, or hear her, and Alice can't _see_ her. But Edward can see the thoughts of people who have seen her."

"No offense to Bella, because she is a beautiful girl, but would people really remember seeing her if they've not had any direct interaction with her?" Rose asked.

In a way, Rose was right because humans were not naturally conscious of their surroundings like vampires were, and they didn't tend to remember random faces in a crowd.

"That's a good point, so we'll have to narrow down where we think she would go first," I said, pulling an attractions travel map of the city out of the hotel desk. I spread it out on the coffee table. "And then ask the people who we think are more likely to have interacted with her. So, Bella had been sleep for about a day and a half, what's the first thing a human does when they wake up?"

"Bathroom," Carlisle said. "The nurses' aides at the hospital know to assist the patients to the restroom as soon as they wake up."

"Right, but she could do that here. So, what next?"

"Food," Emmett said, rubbing his stomach. "That's what I always want when I wake up."

Even though we didn't sleep, we all usually took a few hours of each night to meditate, or decompress from what had been going on that day. It wasn't actual sleep of course, but it was the closest description to it.

"Okay, so what does Bella like to eat?" Char asked.

"Well," Esme said, "I ordered her pizza one night, then there was Italian, Chinese, and Tandori-"

"So we should check the Mexican restaurants next," Emmett joked.

"No, under normal situations Bella actually eats pretty healthy," I said.

"How would you know what she does under normal situations?" Alice asked.

"Because we talk to each other, and she actually knows how to carry on a conversation about somethin' other than clothes," I said, turning my back on her and her nasty attitude. "Plus, if she's eaten all of that other shit, then she'll probably want something a little less spicy."

"I saw a vegan restaurant down the street," Peter said.

"She's not vegan though, or a vegetarian," I said. "But she used to go to a diner with her dad when she was little. Like this one." I pointed to the Corner Café on Vermijo Avenue. "I bet this is where she went first."

"So what, we're just gonna go to places that we think she's been and flash a picture of Bella around hoping that someone remembers seeing her?" Char asked.

"Yeah, just like humans do when they're lookin' for someone," I said, scrolling through the photos on my IPhone looking for one of Bella. "None of us can use our gifts to find her the old fashioned way. If the people we ask are lying about seeing her, I'll be able to tell, and Eddie boy will be able to hear their thoughts. It's the only way, unless anyone has another idea."

"Sounds reasonable," Carlisle said. "What can we do?"

"I need my damn ear back," I said, holding out my hand to Esme.

She huffed and slapped it down into my open palm. "Next time I'll remove something more sensitive. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," I said examining my ear before I put it back on. I didn't want to be walking around town with Edward's diseased ridden ear attached to my body. "Is it on straight?"

"It's perfect," Esme said, and kissed my cheek. "We'll find her Jazz, don't worry."

I wasn't looking when Rose snatched the phone out of my hands. "When did you take these?"

"Gimme back my phone Rose!" I reached for the phone, but she moved out of my grasp. I didn't want to force it from her and end up crushing it in the process.

"Ohmigod, these are really good shots! Is that the meadow down by the house back home?"

"Lemme see," Char said, reaching for the phone now.

"No! No, no stop it!"

"Aww, look at how Bella is looking at you in this one," Rose said.

I knew the photo she was talking about, it was the one where Bella was holding some sort of wild flower up to her nose and looking at the camera over her shoulder. The photos were taken the day before we left Forks, and it was one of the best memories I had of her.

_I could tell that Bella was uncomfortable being in the house, and since she didn't get a proper goodbye with her class mates because of Jake and his mutt friends, I suggested that we go down to the meadow to get away from everything and everyone._

"_So, you were close to your father?" I asked her._

_She nodded. "He was my best friend."_

"_What happened? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want," I added hastily when I saw the pained expression on her face, and felt her grief._

"_No, it's okay. I don't mind telling you." She plucked a purple wild flower and twirled it around in her fingers. "He was killed during a routine traffic stop. Some thug shot him when dad asked for his license and registration."_

_My hands twitched with the urge to reach out and touch her. But, Bella and I weren't that close and I had been a major jerk the day before when I told her that I didn't want to be distracted with her emotions and shit. I could kick myself for that every time I thought about it._

"_I'm sorry to hear that."_

_She sniffed the flower. "It was several years ago. Anyways, after he died I went to live with my mom and Phil in Arizona."_

_I could hear the disgusted tone in her voice. "Not something you wanted to do?"_

_She shook her head. "My mom and I don't exactly get along. She left my dad when I was little, and later on married Phil. She packed her stuff and left a note for us while I was at school one day saying that being a wife was not for her, and that she was sorry that she couldn't be a better mother to me, that I needed more than she could give me."_

_Bella took a deep breath and continued. "Once Renee found out about the police officers bereavement fund and the double indemnity clause in his insurance policy, she opened her arms and her home to me. She thought that she was going to get my money, but little did she know that Charlie had set my trust fund up to distribute the money a little each year until I finished college and then I would get the rest when I turned twenty five. Once she found out that I wasn't her money train, she made my life hell."_

"_Then why is it so important for you to go settle matters with her now?"_

_She thought for a moment and stopped to face me. "Because she still is my mother, and I want to give her one last chance to act like one. I need to know if she ever loved me at all." _

_Bella picked several more wild flowers and we sat down while she braided them into a crown. "I'm glad that you're gonna be there when I talk to her."_

"_Why's that?" I asked, tucking more flowers into the crown as she braided it._

_She shrugged, and blushed. "I'll need someone there on my side, and even though we don't know each other well, it feels like you've got my back."_

_I squeezed her hand, liking the way our fingers looked joined. "Yeah, I've got your back, B."_

_We talked for a while more about her childhood, and she let me snap the pictures of her with my phone. She took a couple of me as well with her own phone, and I held the phone up so that we could take several together._

The one thing that I had remembered the most about that day was that it felt so natural to be around her, to talk to her and to relax with her. She made me feel like it was okay to be myself, and that was something that I hadn't felt in over a century.

"She was not looking at me, she was looking at the camera," I argued.

"Ooohhh, and look at this one," Esme said, joining in with the other two girls. "You two are so cute together with your faces smashed together in the camera like that."

"Okay, cut it out. We're wastin' time," I said angrily and snatched my phone away from them. "My Bella is out there alone, and we need to find her." The feeling in my chest was getting stronger, and the need to find her was almost overwhelming. I didn't want to even think about what would happen should the Guard goons find her before I did.

"So we go to the diner first, and then where else?" Peter asked.

"Wherever the people we ask lead us," I said, looking at Edward. He nodded in understanding.

Edward was a pretty smart guy. He knew what he could get away with, and what he needed to do to keep from getting caught in his schemes and lies. He also knew that I would rip him to shreds in a matter of seconds if he provoked me, or if he lied about what he was hearing from the people who remembered Bella, but wouldn't answer our questions about her.

We had a few things on our side; one, Edward and his Jedi mind skills; two, my ability to know if he or the people we ran into were lying; and then probably the best out of the three, my body physically knew when my Bella was near. How could I go wrong with that?

X-X-X-X

"So what did the waitress say?" Emmett asked, as we got back into the truck.

"She was here," Edward said.

Something wasn't right. I thought for a minute, then jumped out of the truck and went back into the diner. The waitress remembered seeing Bella, but had hesitated on telling us which direction she went in when she left the diner. Fortunately, Edward had been able to pluck that information out of her thoughts. She apparently thought that we meant to hurt Bella, and for that I was grateful that there were still decent people in the world who wanted to protect the innocent.

But I had noticed something when inside the diner that I hadn't thought about before. It happened when the waitress opened up the register, and I needed her to open it again.

"May I help you?" the waitress asked.

"Yeah, let me get a cup of coffee," I said. "To go."

"Cream and sugar?"

How the hell would I know? The last time I drank coffee, they still sold it in a tin can. "Uh, black."

"That's a dollar even," she said.

I pulled out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to her over the counter. The waitress looked at me curiously as I leaned over the counter, peering into the cash register. I smiled when she counted back my change, my suspicions confirmed.

"Uh sir, your coffee!" she yelled after me as I was leaving.

"Pour it out!" I shouted over my shoulder as I ran out.

"What the hell was that about?" Rose asked when I got back into the truck.

I held up the twenty dollar bill from my change. "Notice anything?"

"Andrew Jackson's looking a little green around the collar," Emmett joked.

"No, it smells like Rose," I said grinning. "And if you take a really deep breath, it faintly smells like Bella."

They all took a deep breath.

"Okay, and? We already know that Bella was here." Edward said.

"Yeah, but it means that there is a loophole in Bella's shield that may help us track her. We can't catch her scent as long as she's _in_ her shield –which is why we couldn't tell which booth she sat at until the waitress thought about it. But, we can catch the scent of her on the things that she leaves behind, like this money."

"So she's like in some sort of invisible shield bubble?" Rose asked. "Another power?"

"No, it's not another power or an extension of her power. It's just plainly how the shield works. It cuts her off from our senses, and she obviously takes the shield or bubble with her wherever she goes-but if she were to drop something out of the shield/bubble…"

"…or leave something behind…" Emmett said.

"…then her scent is left behind too," I finished.

"Oh great, so now we just have to find a trail of things that she's left behind. That's not going to be impossible at all," Rose said.

"Wait, where did she get money that smelled like Rose anyway?" Emmett asked.

"I gave her some cash for drinks last night at the club," Rose explained. "So where do we head next?"

"How much?" I asked.

Rose shrugged. "I dunno, a couple hundred. She tried to give it back, sayin' that she had money in the bank but didn't have her ATM card, so I told her to just keep it. Why?"

"Because Edward got from the waitress that Bella left the diner in a cab," I said. "And if she's got that kind of money on her, then there's only two places she would go."

"Where?" Emmett asked.

Bella wasn't dumb, and she knew that she would never be able to hide from the Volturi forever. There were only two people on the planet that she would want to see before facing the inevitable.

"To New York to see her mother or back to Seattle to see her father's grave."

"So where do _we_ go?" Rose asked.

I dialed the number to the airport where we had left our rented jet. "New York."

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**A/N: Okay, so I didn't say that it was good citrus! LOL!**

**Please forgive me and review anyway!**

**I do promise that the lemons will come, and that if you review, you will get a better teaser than last time.**

**Thanks guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Many thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing! **

**And thanks to my two rockin' beta's, Cullen818 and JamesRamsey!**

**Some of you guys may think that the last chapter as well as this one is a filler chapter, but it's not. Jasper and Bella needed to figure some things out on their own first, and that's what's going on. For those of you who wanted Jasper to kick Eddie's butt, well, he hasn't told me what he's planning, but knowing the Major, he's not gonna let it rest for long; patience dear readers, patience. I'm trying my best to not rush the story!**

**SM owns it!**

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**BPOV**

Okay, so this was really dumb.

What the hell was wrong with me? I was usually a helluva lot smarter than this. Why the hell did I think that taking off by myself would be the right thing to do? Oh yeah, 'cause I was trying to prove Edward fuckin' Cullen wrong!

His words kept swimming around in my head, but he was not right. I wasn't all alone in this world. Rose and Char were, even in the few short days that I had known them, already my sisters. And, every time I thought about how sweet Esme had been to me, making sure to feed me and smothering my face with kisses every time she saw me, made me want to cry.

And then there was Jasper. Who was I kidding with my tough girl act? Even when I wanted to kick his ass, I still wanted to be with him. But, you can't make someone want you back, I thought, as I flipped through the pictures of us on my phone. The simple fact that I had held onto the dream of reuniting with my mother for so long proved that.

"What's wrong dear, why are you crying?" a little old lady next to me asked. After a four hour flight to Buffalo, I was now sitting at the bus terminal waiting on the bus to Batavia, New York, and Renee.

I touched my cheek, unaware that I actually was crying. "Oh, I…just homesick I guess." Home? Did I really even have a home anymore? A little part of me was shouting that my home was now with Jasper. But, every time I thought about him telling my secrets to his family, I stomped on the part of me that wished I was still with him.

"Is that your boyfriend?" she asked, peering over my shoulder at my phone.

"Um, no. He's just some guy I know." I shifted in the hard plastic chair. My butt was aching from sitting too long, but the empty feeling in my chest was hard to ignore. So was the nagging little voice that was telling me how stupid it was to leave Jasper.

"So do you always make a habit of crying over random guys you know?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm not crying over him," I argued.

Yeah, I was lying. I was crying and my heart was aching for him.

"Oh, okay. So it's the bad economy that has your stressed, is it?"

I laughed softly, wiping the rest of my tears away. "No, it's not that either. Although gas prices are high enough to make me wanna cry. It's just that I recently found out that some things I told a friend in confidence, turned out to become public knowledge."

"Well, did you confront your friend?"

"No."

"Why not?"

I opened my mouth to answer her, but realized I didn't have an answer.

"Close your mouth hun, you look like a big mouth bass with your jaw bobbing up and down like that."

I sniffed, and blew my nose on the tissue she pressed into my hand. "I don't know why I didn't ask him. I guess I was just too-"

"Chicken."

"Huh?"

"You were too chicken to ask him, because if you did, then the both of you would have to admit your feelings for each other," she said.

"But-"

"But, nothing. Is that him?" she asked, pointing to the picture on my phone with a crocked, arthritic finger.

"Yes."

"Well with the way he's looking at you in that picture, I must say, you're one dumb cookie."

"First of all, he's not looking at me any kind of way. He's simply looking at the camera. Second, I am not dumb. I'll have you know that I'm at the top of my class at UW."

"And what has being at the top of your class at UW gotten you?" She didn't give me a chance to answer. "I'll tell you what it's gotten you, nothing. You've got even less now, than you thought you had before."

"But-"

"Butt, is right. You are acting like an ass."

How dare this old lady talk to me like she knew me! Who the hell did she think she was?

"I'm not-"

"You're not what? An ass? Well you didn't stick around long enough to prove yourself otherwise, now did you? So now all you've got is a bus ticket to nowhere, staring at a picture of a man that you could have had, but left available for someone else," she said, and then _harumped_ under her breath. "And as good lookin' as he is, he's probably got the lady's lined up, waitin' to hump his leg."

I didn't know what to say to that. She was right after all. I left before I could confront Jasper with what Edward had accused him of. _Edward!_ I smacked myself in the forehead with an open palm. Of fuckin' course, why didn't I think about it sooner? I forgot that the short dick mothafucka could read minds! And on top of that, Edward was probably lying about everything else too!

But why would Edward lie about something like that? What was going on between the two of them that would make Edward seemingly hate his own brother?

"So miss smarty pants, top of the class, did you just figure out how dumb you really are?"

"I am not…I-"

"Quit you stutterin' and let's get on the bus. I'm guessin' you've got family business to tend to in Batavia?"

I nodded, loaning my arm out for her to lean on. Was she some sort of psychic? "How do you-"

"No one goes to Batavia unless they've got family there, 'cause there simply ain't nothin' there," she answered. "Nothing but the Muckdogs that is. And, I suggest you call lover boy there before we get to Batavia and tell him what a pea brain you've been. Lord knows the people in that town wouldn't know good cellular service if it hit 'em in the arse!"

The Batavia Muckdogs in Genesee County, New York, were a minor league, short season 'A' baseball team that was an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. My step-father, Phil Dwyer, played on the team, and with the winning season they were having, according to the article I had read on the internet, it was a pretty good chance that he would be playing in the major leagues the next season.

I dialed Jasper's number before we boarded the bus, but got his voicemail instead. Hearing his voice made my stomach flip flop and the dull ache in my chest intensify, but I hung up the phone before leaving a message. When Mrs. Cope tisked at me, I called him back.

"Hey Jasper, it's me Bella. I-I think we need to talk. I'm sorry for just runnin' out like that, but I promise I'm comin' back…if you want me to? Call me, okay?"

"Of course he wants you to come back," Mrs. Cope said when I had hung up.

"How do you know?"

"'Casue if he's as dumb as you are, then you deserve each other. C'mon child, help an 'ol lady on the bus."

Another six hours, a photo album full of grandkid stories and a bag of home baked chocolate chip cookies later, we were passing Dwyer stadium in Batavia, New York. It was just a strange coincidence that my step-father played in a stadium with the same name. He sometimes made the lame joke that they built the stadium just because of his awesome playing skills. Yeah right!

It was dark and raining when I boarded the plane in Colorado Springs, and more than ten hours later it was sleeting and bitterly cold in Batavia. The city was located south of Lake Ontario, and the bus driver announced that the sleet would be changing into a freak September lake effect snow storm by mid morning.

The money that Rose gave me was running low, and I was hoping that Phil would be home when I got there; I wouldn't be surprised if my own mother refused to let me stay and turned me out in the middle of a snow storm. Phil would at least take pity on me and convince her to let me stay.

"Do you need a ride dearie? I can get my son James to give you a lift."

"No thanks Mrs. Cope, my parents live just down the road here," I said, pulling out the walking directions I had printed off of the internet while at the airport.

She hugged me tight. "You take care dear, and don't forget what I said."

"Yes ma'am, and thank you." I zipped my jacket all the way up and pulled the hood over my head. If the Volturi didn't find and kill me first, then the flu probably would, I thought.

The little bungalow that Renee and Phil were renting wasn't all that far from the bus terminal, but I was still practically frozen by the time I got there. My entire body felt as cold as Jasper's scar on my neck. Thinking about the scar, how I had gotten it and what we had done after I got it, made me whimper with loneliness. I reached up and touched the raised, crescent shape.

After hours of being berated by Mrs. Cope for my stupidity, I had finally come to a decision about Jasper. I would somehow manage to go back to Forks and find him, tell him how I felt about him, and then face my fate with the Volturi. But first, I needed to settle things with Renee.

I stood at the wooden picket fence, going over and over in my mind what I needed to say to her. And, just as I was about to go through the gate, I chickened out.

"Okay Swan, get your shit together, so we can at least get out of the cold," I said aloud to myself.

I took a deep breath and ran up the front concrete steps. That was a dumbass move because the steps were covered in ice. I slipped and fell, hitting my head against the door with a loud groan. Then, the door opened and I fell in face forwards.

"What the hell—Bella?" Phil said.

I waved my frozen fingers at him. "Hi Phil," I said weakly, looking up at him from where I lay in the middle of their foyer.

He reached down to pick me up. "Honey, what are you doing on the floor?"

"Makin' my grand entrance of course," I joked.

"Does your mother know you're in town? You're bleeding. Come in here and sit down." He ushered me into the kitchen and pushed me down into one of chairs at the table. He turned my face toward the light, checking out the cut on my forehead. "That looks like a nasty cut, but I don't think you'll need stitches. Lemme get the first aid kit, and I'll clean it up for you."

Phil had been a paramedic by trade until he decided to give baseball his full time attention. He still kept his licenses up to date though, just for something to fall back on in case he didn't make it to the big times.

"Your mother is at the grocery store," he said, pulling off the latex gloves. "And, by the way you're fidgeting, I'm guessin' that she doesn't know you're here."

I touched the bandage on my forehead and winced. "No, I didn't tell her."

"What's going on Bells?"

"I just want to settle things with her," I said, nervously running my finger along the edge of the place mat.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. "What's really going on Bella, 'cause you don't show up in the middle of an almost snow storm, just because you want to settle things." He snapped his fingers and grinned. "Wait a sec, I'm gonna be a grandfather!"

"No. Absolutely not!"

"Oh," he said, disappointed. "Then what is it?"

"Well Phil, I'm gonna be twenty-one in the next few days, so I figured that now was as good of a time to talk to her as any other." It was partially the truth.

A car horn honked twice. "That's her with the groceries. I'll send her in, and you two can talk in the living room."

I was standing in front of the fireplace trying to thaw out when I heard her behind me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the prodigal daughter."

"Hello Renee."

"What are you doing here?"

Well, I guess that was the end of the pleasantries, I thought. If she wanted to get down to the nit and gritty, then we would get to it.

"Would you believe that I just wanted to see you?"

She laughed. "No. What do you want? Let me guess, you blew through all of dear 'ol dad's money, and now you're looking for a hand out because you heard that Phil is going to the majors. Well you can just think again."

"If I recall correctly Mother, it wasn't my hand that was stuck out for a hand out. And no, I don't need Phil's money; I still have plenty of my own."

She hung her coat on the back of a chair. "Well you knew just what to do to weasel it out of Charlie, even after he was dead."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily. "I never asked him for anything."

"You may not have ever asked, but you always got!"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Ever since the day I brought you home from the hospital, you had him wrapped around your little finger."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You were jealous?"

"'_I've got to work overtime Renee, we have Bella's future to think about now'_, or '_let's put your art classes on hold Renee, I think Bella's going to need braces eventually_' or, and this is my favorite, '_let's take Bella to Disney World instead of that cruise you wanted to go on Renee'_. He always put you first!"

"I wasn't the other woman; I was five years old when you left!"

"And that was five years too late!" she screamed back at me. "I saw the writing on the wall long before I decided to leave, but I was hoping that he would change."

"Change?"

What the hell was she talking about?

"I was hoping that he would want me again," she said softly, tears forming in her eyes.

"He never stopped wanting you!" I yelled at her. "He kept your picture in his wallet and looked at it every damn day since the minute you walked out the door!"

"You're lying!"

"God, how stupid can you be? He didn't know I was listening, but every night before he went to bed I could hear him pleading with God to send you back to us. Even when I got older, he refused to date anyone. I used to invent ways for my friend's to bring their single mom's over to meet Charlie, but he always refused because he was hoping that you would walk back through the door!"

"Shut up!"

"January 27th," I said.

"Just stop it!"

"You're wedding anniversary was January 27th, and you know how he spent each one? He would take me to the pier and buy me a funnel cake and a Coke because that was what he did for you on your first date when you two were sixteen. He said that he couldn't afford a movie and dinner, because he was saving to buy a car. And, he was so scared that Bobby Johnson would steal you away from him because he already had a car and was the captain of the football team."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"And later that night, after he thought I had gone to bed, he would sit your picture on the coffee table, and tell you how much he loved you." I took a deep breath and wiped my face on the sleeve of my sweater. "Why didn't you want us?"

She didn't answer for a while, just stared at me as if she were trying to decide what she wanted to tell me. "Truthfully, I wasn't ready to be a mother. I got pregnant by accident. Charlie was thrilled, obviously, but I just couldn't wrap my head around being tied down for so long."

I laughed out loud to keep from crying. I would not show weakness in front of her. "That's such a lame ass excuse."

"Whatever," she said, turning away.

"Whatever?" Was she serious? She had destroyed a man's trust and his ability to love, not to mention all of my own insecurities that had come from not knowing why she had left me, and all she could say was, _whatever_! "You weren't mature enough to woman-up to your responsibilities, so you just ran out on them? Unbelievable!"

She shrugged, as if it were a natural thing to not want your child and husband. It was a mistake for me to think that I would get an admission of love out of her. And then I realized that I didn't need it. None of it mattered, because _she_ didn't matter anymore.

Charlie had given me the best life I could have ever imagined. No, I didn't have the luxuries in life that some had, but I had something better, I had his love. He loved me unconditionally, and my life would never be sad and pathetic knowing that.

Edward was _almost_ right in one area though. I was using the bucket list to prove that my life was exciting and meaningful. But, I didn't need some list to prove that my life had meaning, I had people that loved me, memories of a wonderful childhood, and a great undead family that made me feel more love in five days than my own mother had in twenty years. And, that was something I could live in peace with, dead or undead.

Resolved, I pulled on my jacket and the beanie that I found in the bottom of my back pack. "Take care Renee. I hope everything works out for you."

"You're leaving, just like that?" she asked, shocked.

"What else is there to say? I thought that I needed you to admit that you loved me, but I realized that I don't. You gave me the best gift ever, you gave me Charlie." I walked to the door, but stopped and turned back to look at her. "Tell Phil that I hope he does great in the big league, and I'll be rooting for him."

"Bella," Phil said from behind Renee. "Don't go; it's freezing out there."

"Don't worry about me Phil, I'm gonna be okay."

I pulled the door open, and stopped dead in my tracks. Jane stood at the bottom of the stairs staring at me, a small smirk on her face.

Alright, so maybe I wasn't going to be okay.

**JPOV**

"I think you took a wrong turn somewhere," I said.

Emmett tapped his temple with a finger. "Built in GPS my brotha'; I never get lost."

"Yeah well, we just passed the Otka Milk plant for the third time." I looked at my IPhone, and for the umpteeth time, cursed my service provider. Did anybody use a cell phone out here in the middle of nofuckin'where?

"There's no way that Bella is out here alone," Rose said, referring to the sleet and icy roads. "At least, I hope not."

"I'm sure she's at her mother's house and out of this mess by now," Peter said.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. We all must have smelt it at the same time, because a low growl could be heard from each of us. It was Jane's scent.

"Turn down Elm Street, right here," I instructed needlessly; he was already headed that way.

"What are we going to do if they have her?" Char asked anxiously.

"Leave me here and go back to the cabin with the others," I said. "Somehow I'll manage to get to her." I could feel the demon beast scratching at the surface.

"What? No way are we leaving you out here by yourself," Emmett said.

"You have your mates to think of, and I have mine. I won't put Char and Rose in danger –"

"Danger is my middle name," Char said. "And Bella is our sister. Emmett, I can run faster than you're driving, step on it!"

"But—" I tried to argue, but Rose cut me off.

""You're out voted this time brotha'," Rose said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Bella is our sister now, and sisters stick together, and fight for each other."

"It may not even come to a fight," Peter said. "Bella may not even be with them."

"But if she is, then the girls can help watch our backs," Emmett said, as he took a curve at eighty miles an hour.

I was grateful that the street was deserted, and that he had quick reflexes, or we all would have been temporarily wrapped around a telephone pole.

"There, the little house on the corner," I said, and braced myself when Emmett slammed on the brakes. I was out of the car before it stopped moving, throwing instructions to the others over my shoulder as I ran up the front steps.

I was trying to remember to act like a human and not rip the door off of the hinges when it suddenly opened. A tall thin woman resembling Bella stood staring at me.

"Can I help you?"

"Bella, where is my Bella?"

"Who are you?"

"A friend of hers," I answered impatiently. Renee Dwyer looked so much like Bella that I fought the urge to hug her. She attempted to close the door in my face, but I stuck my foot in the door jam when I smelled Bella's blood. My chest tightened with fear. "Where is Bella?"

"I haven't seen her."

"You're lying!" I screamed. I would not hesitate to kill her if she had hurt my Bella.

"Hey! I don't know who you are, but you will not be yelling at my wife like that!"

I pushed my way into the house, scanning the room for my mate.

"You can't just barge into my home like this! Go call the police Renee!"

I could feel the demon steadily coming out, and if he didn't get some answers soon, he was gonna start slaughtering people. "You're Phil?" I asked, already knowing that he was Bella's step father. "Where is Bella?"

I saw the bat coming at me out of the corner of my eye, but I let it hit me anyway. They needed to see that I was not one to be fucked with. It shattered across my arm, and I allowed Renee a few seconds to be stunned, looking at the pieces on the floor, before I grabbed her by the throat, pushing her against the wall.

"Don't make me hurt you. Now, I'm going to ask you one more time, where is my Bella?" my demon asked. I could feel the blood pumping through her veins, and her fear was practically paralyzing her vocal cords.

"P-please l-let my w-wife go," Phil begged. "B-Bella's not h-here."

"Is she hurt?"

"She f-fell outside, and h-hit her h-head; she was o-okay w-when she l-left though."

"How long ago was that?"

"A few minutes, maybe fifteen. I tried to get her to stay, but she's stubborn, you know?"

No one knew as well as I did how stubborn my Bella was. But I felt sincerity coming from Phil, and his concern at her leaving, so I released Renee and stepped back. I watched her crumple to the floor like a rag doll. Phil ran to his wife's side, trying to pick her up.

I turned away to leave, but stopped when Renee spoke.

"Are you in love with Bella?" she asked, clutching her throat.

My chest tightened. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because if you are, I suggest you leave the worthless bitch where she is. Bella is _nothing_, and she-"

I felt two pairs of hands grab me from behind, and my brothers' dragged me out of the house before I killed Renee Dwyer.

"Renee!" I heard Phil yell. "You will stop talking about Bella like that! This shit ends now!"

"Focus Major," Peter said, shoving me down the street. "Jane's scent ends at the sidewalk, but Rose found this at the end of the road."

He placed Bella's knitted beanie in my hands. I held it up to my nose and inhaled deeply. It was still warm, and it smelled of her sweet scent.

"There were two sets of footprints in the snow, but one ends here," Emmett said. "And looking at the others, it looks like Jane is probably carrying Bella."

"We have to find them, and now!"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks guys for reading! Judging by the response from last chapter, I don't know if you guys are taking a break from reading because of the holidays or what. But, if you want another update before the year is out, shoot me a review and let me know. **

****Oh by the way, if it helps you to decide if you want that update, Jasper and Bella are in the next chapter together!****


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

****For those of you who don't know, I do not write from an outline. I tired in the beginning when I started my first fic, To Keep You Safe, and it went horribly wrong. So then I decided to try again using one for this fic, and it also went to hell. So I threw out the damn notebook, and went back to just typing. I write from inspiration, and make changes where necessary. With that being said, I'm not keeping a close track of the day's Bella has left, or the exact tiny details of her gift, and as a result, this story so far is so completely different from where I initally imagined it to be. My beta's do a wonderful job pointing out inconsistentcys and such so that I'm not a complete blithering idiot. My biggest concern is that you like the story, and I just hope that I don't screw it up. Thank you, thank you for all of your support with the last chapter. I could not ask for better readers, or reviewers. You guys rock! That is all.****

**SM owns it.**

* * *

**BPOV**

"Jane," I said.

"Bella," she said, lips twitching.

I could tell that she was trying to bring me to my knees in pain with her gift, but it wasn't working. My shield was rebounding whatever she was throwing at me. I did a mental squeal with glee and fought the urge to laugh.

"Come with me." She turned and walked toward the end of the road.

"Where are we going?" I asked, running to catch up with her. The wind was blowing and it was now snowing. She was moving awfully fast, and then stopped all of a sudden. I nearly collided with her, but she caught my arm and spun me around to face her.

"Listen kid—"

"Kid?" I asked. Had she looked in a mirror lately? She and Alice could compete for the smallest vampire award.

She stepped up to me and put a finger in my face. "You may be taller, and have bigger boobs than me, but I'm nearly four hundred years old. So yes, you are a kid to me."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere with you. I've got six more days before I have to be transformed."

"No dummy, you've got maybe an hour before Demetri finds you and eats you for lunch."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She huffed, and her red eyes seemed to get brighter with impatience. "Aro left us behind to watch Eleazar, you and your mother from a distance. I was assigned to watch your mother, and this morning I got a call from Alec saying that you had disappeared. We knew you weren't headed for Forks because Demetri said that all of them arrived in Colorado Springs yesterday. And, if you're here by yourself…"

"…then Demetri knows that I ran away," I finished.

"Aro's instructions were to eliminate you if we thought that you would try to circumvent his orders."

"Then why are you trying to help me?"

"Who said I was trying to help you?"

"Because if you weren't trying to help me, I would be dead by now."

"I can't very well kill you out in the open like this, now can I?"

I looked around the deserted streets and then back at her. "Right. So what's in it for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the bull shit Jane. I know that you're gettin' somethin' out of this deal, so you may as well just tell me."

She smiled at me with an evil glint in her eye. "You get to take my place on the Guard."

"What?"

"I've been on that fuckin' Guard since the day I was created, and it's time for me to see the world. I wanna go to high school, go shopping at a real mall, ride on a roller coaster or maybe even seduce some human boys."

"You don't like the Guard?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, it's not too bad. I get to eat who I want, and Aro lets me use his credit card all the time."

"But?"

"But, I'm ready for a change. I'm like the fuckin' palace pet or something. When you humans get upset, what do you do? You kick the family dog. I'm the shortest one there, and someone is always trying my patience."

"We don't go around kicking dogs, Jane."

"I'm using it as a metaphor human," she said, and paced in front of me, her long coat swirling in the wind. "Anyways, with you as Aro's new toy, he'll stop calling on me to bring down some errant fool who got on his nerves."

I hugged the jacket closer to me. "But my power isn't like yours."

"No, but you got that new zap thing going on, and I know Aro will like that."

"How do _you _know what I've got?"

She huffed again and rolled her eyes. "You're really asking me this Bella? Aro very well couldn't send one of us in too close to spy, 'cause then the Cullen's would know that there were Volturi vamps in the area."

"So he has human spies?"

"Duh! Of course he has human spies, and they all report to me. Listen, we've got to go."

"Wait a minute. If Aro has human spies, doesn't that violate his own number one rule of vamps living inconspicuously?"

"Get real Bella, Aro does what he wants, when he wants. He wrote the damn rule, why would you think that he wouldn't break it?"

"But-"

"C'mon, we've got to go!" She tugged on my arm to get me moving again.

"Go where?"

"You've got to get back to the Cullen's before Demetri gets here, and you have to be changed in six days."

"Or what?"

"Or as per Aro's orders, we're to start killing your parents." She held up her hands to stop my protest. "And I know, I know, with a mom like yours, good riddance. But you do have a really sweet stepdad; he reminds me of my own papa. And then there's Esme; I love her to pieces. She's such a cool vamp mom, and I don't want to be the one Aro chooses to hurt her."

"I had already planned to go back to them Jane."

"Yes, but we have to get moving, and now!" She reached out and grabbed me, tossing me on her back. "Tuck your legs, I'd hate for one to get caught on a tree stump or somethin' and get snapped off!" she yelled, right before taking off with me through the woods.

We had perhaps made it a half mile into the woods before she abruptly skidded to a halt, the momentum nearly throwing me over her shoulders.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Vampire," she said, dumping me onto the ground.

"Is it Demetri?" I asked, looking around.

"JANE!"

The wind gusts were blowing the snow sideways, stinging my eyes, and whipping my hair around. For the first time I noticed that I had lost my beanie somewhere. It felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees, and I was freezing. Her name was yelled in unison, and I searched the area all around us. Even though I couldn't see anything, I knew one of the voices as well as I knew my own.

My heart beat sped up, and it felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. "Jasper!" I yelled, jumping up. "Jasper, where are you?"

Jane yanked me back down to the ground, and grabbed me by the collar, forcing me to look at her_. I can't help you anymore_, she mouthed to me.

I nodded, understanding. If Demetri or Alec thought that she was trying to help me, then she would be labeled a traitor for disobeying Aro's orders, and they would kill her without hesitation.

"So you found her?" Demetri asked, stepping out from behind a tree.

"It wasn't hard, humans are so predictable," Jane said, moving away from me to stand next to Demetri.

"And you left her intact for my lunch, how thoughtful of you." He knelt down about two feet in front of me. "I bet you taste like cherries."

"How would you know what cherries taste like?" I asked flippantly.

"I haven't been a vampire forever Isabella; and cherries used to be one of my favorites."

"Too bad my mate's gonna shove your fangs down your throat before you get a chance to find out." _At least, I hope that's what he was planning_, I thought. I also hoped that he wasn't so mad at me that he would just hand me over to them.

My mind starting running scenarios of how to get myself out of my predicament, but I couldn't come up with anything plausible. Even if I could drain Demetri, that still left Alec. He hadn't shown himself yet, but I knew he was out there somewhere.

"Well, I have tasted her, and her flavor is more like strawberries if you ask me," Jasper said from somewhere behind me. "And, I suggest you take a step back, or –"

"Or what?" Alec asked, coming out of the shadows.

"Or you may not like the consequences," Peter said, flipping the top of a lighter open and then closed. The flame popped up every time the top was open, and he passed his hand over it several times.

_Was he crazy, he could set himself on fire!_

Demetri took a step back and stood slightly in front of Alec and Jane. "She disobeyed Aro's orders; a crime punishable by death. And, if you stand in the way of that, you will be eliminated as well," he plainly stated.

"His orders were for her to be changed, and we are still within the allotted time frame," Jasper replied, stepping closer to me. Peter and Emmett flanked his sides, standing like statues next to him. "And, if you touch my mate, _you_ will be eliminated."

_Yeah, take that mothafucka!_

"It seems as if we are at an impasse then, brother," Alec said smiling up at Demetri.

"Not likely," Demetri said grinning, and then grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, pulling me against him. He wrapped his hand in my hair and yanked my head back, exposing my neck to his teeth. "I can either snap her neck, or suck her dry before you even take one step."

_Please Jasper, don't take that step,_ I thought. Jasper took a step forward. I rolled my eyes; of course he would take a step forward! He was daring Demetri to make good on his threat.

"I don't think that you can do either," Jasper said, taunting him. "What do you think Bella?" He winked at me.

_Huh? Jasper, this is so not the time to be playing with my life!_

How the hell do I respond to that? "Ummm…"

And then it hit me what Jasper was doing. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and he nodded at me.

_What if it didn't work?_

"It _will_ work, Bella," Jasper said softly. "I believe in you."

_What, are you psychic now too?_ I thought. First, Mrs. Cope and them my vampire mate. Who would be the next to join the psychic friend's network?

I took a deep breath, and focused on my hands. I knew that it didn't necessarily have to come from my hands, because Emmett had just put his arm around my shoulder when I zapped him. But, I figured that if I concentrated on one central part of my body, then it would be easier to push it—whatever it was-out of me. I just hoped that my newly psychic friend had a plan B should this one go to hell in a hand basket.

"What are you talking about?" Demetri asked.

_C'mon on hands, don't fail me now!_

"What, you don't know?" I asked him trying to sound tough. I clenched my body, squeezing my muscles and then I reached up to touch the wrist he had wound in my hair. I felt the tingle as our skin touched, and I tightened my grip on his wrist, making sure to get a good connection for my gift to work.

_It worked!_

He released me, staggered and fell to the ground. Alec looked down at him and then back to me, stunned. "W-what did y-you do to him?"

"Way to go Bells!" Emmett yelled.

Jasper scooped me up, and took off running with me as soon as Demetri had released me. I hooked my legs around his waist and buried my face in the crook of his neck. I could hear Emmett and Peter running behind us, one of them shouting directions to Rose on the phone.

We ran for a couple of miles before I heard the honking of a car horn, and then Rose and Char shouting my name.

"Ohmigod Bella, you scared us half to death!" Rose said, hugging me.

"Don't you ever do that to us again!" Char scolded me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said. My teeth were chattering and standing in the middle of five ice cold vampires trying to hug me while in the middle of a snow storm was not helping.

"Let's get her in the car and back to the cabin before she's completely frozen girls," Peter said. "'Cause you miss thang, have got some explainin' to do."

**JPOV**

"Look, you've got to tell her how you feel," Peter said.

"I don't know how I feel," I admitted to him.

"How the hell do you not know how you feel?" He knocked on my forehead with his knuckles. "Hello, is this thing on? You're an empath!"

I pushed his hands away. "I know what I am Peter, but I've never felt like this before."

"Like what?"

"Unsure," I mumbled.

"Unsure about what Major?"

I took a deep breath. I hated admitting that I was unsure about anything. For so long I had been in complete control of my own emotions, that it was foreign territory for me to be admitting something like this.

I looked down at the floor, examining the fibers in the carpet. "What if she doesn't like me back?" I mumbled.

Peter rocked with laughter; he fell to his knees and rolled around on the floor howling. I briefly thought about kicking his ass, but I couldn't do that and get the information out of him that I needed.

"Will you shut the fuck up and just tell me what I need to do!"

"I just told you, tell her how you feel."

"But-"

"There are no 'buts' Major. You either shit, or get off the pot."

"What the hell does that even mean Peter? We don't shit at all!"

He rolled his eyes at me. "How did you feel when you found out she was gone?"

I thought about it for a moment. I had never used the word 'scared' when referring to myself. "I was sc…I was sccaarreedd," I said, drawing the word out. It left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I grimaced.

"It's okay to feel scared Major. She scared the rest of us too."

"But I don't get sccaa-that word. I don't do _that_!"

"Well, how did you feel when we found her?"

"I was happy that she was safe."

"Oh, that's good. So tell her that."

"That I'm happy that she's safe? Isn't that kinda lame?"

"No, girls like it when you tell 'em shit like that. It makes 'em feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"I thought that was what cash was for. I did buy her something before we left Colorado Springs. Maybe I should just give her that instead."

Peter slapped himself on the forehead with an open palm. "That's your problem."

"What? What's my problem?"

He clamped his hands down on my arms and shook me. "Bella is not Alice."

I pushed him away. "I know that."

"Do you?"

I turned away from him and threw another log on the fireplace. Bella was in the shower, and I didn't want her catching a chill when she got out. The only decent place in town that we could find to rent for the night was a drafty old hunting cabin near the airport. Because of the storm, we wouldn't be leaving until the next day.

"Yes, I know that Bella is not Alice. They are two totally different women."

"Then you know that you can't treat them the same. Bella will not laugh at your feelings, or trivialize them. You have to trust her." He turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But if you don't want her like that, then you need to set some clear boundaries, because one way or another, in thirteen months she's off to Italy to live with the head vamps."

"Where are you going?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread. He was about to leave me alone with her.

"Tell her." He nodded toward the bathroom. "Imma go find my mate and do nasty things to her in the woods," he said, wagging his eyebrows at me.

As soon as we had gotten Bella back to the rest of the family, Esme, Carlisle and the girls swarmed her, smothering her with hugs and kisses. Emmett and Peter had wanted to explain their part in the whole mess, but I asked them to wait. I needed to speak to Bella about it all first. So, one by one, they all began leaving the house, setting me up and forcing my hand to talk to her.

"Wait a minute."

"What is it Major?"

"What if…what if she…umm, you know…"

"What if she…what?"

"Ummm…"

"Just spit it out Major."

I swallowed the venom in my mouth along with my pride. "What if…what if she umm, zaps me while we're _you know_, and I umm…_you know_."

"No, I don't know. What the hell are you talking about?"

The smug bastard knew exactly what I was talking about, but was trying to force me into saying it anyway.

"What if she zaps my dick while we're doing it, and I can't get it back up?"

If I thought he was laughing hard before, he was damn near hysterical with laughter now. If vamps could cry, venom would be leaking from his eyes.

"Fuck you!" I shouted at him.

"I'm sorry for laughing," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, but I just got a mental picture of that happening!"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up and get out of here!"

"No, no I'm okay now." He took several deep breaths, clutching his chest. "Okay, here's the deal. How did you get her to take Demetri down?"

"Huh? I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did, you made her feel like she could control it. You gave her the confidence and the security that she needed. Just do that again. "

"But what if that doesn't work?"

"Well, are you planning on jumpin' her bones right now?"

"No, of course not. I don't even know how she feels about it."

"Which is why you need to talk to her," he said. "And tell her _everything_ you're feeling."

"Everything?"

"Yup, everything," he said. "Just don't worry, it'll all work out."

I paced in front of the fireplace, racking my brain with what to say to her.

If I told her that I liked her, would she laugh at me? Or would she be demanding and mean? No, I thought, that was how Alice was, and Bella is not Alice. I repeated that over and over in my head.

But, what if she didn't like me back? What if she didn't want anything to do with me? Could I handle that type of rejection, and still go through with her transformation and training?

What the hell was I getting myself into?

There was a knock outside on the window pane and Peter's face appeared. "Tell her!" he shouted and then took off with Char, both of them giggling.

"Jasper," Bella said behind me.

I felt her behind me before I turned to look at her. She was wearing cream color cashmere yoga pants with a matching hoodie. The top of her pants hung off her hips and there was about an inch of flesh peeking out between the top of the pants and the bottom of the hoodie.

I swallowed hard.

"Bella."

She moved to stand in front of the fireplace. "Where is everyone?"

"Umm, out huntin'."

"In a snow storm?"

"The weather doesn't bother us Bella."

"Oh yeah, I didn't think about that. Did you need to go too?"

I shrugged. "Nah, I'm good."

I prowled around the room, searching for a way to bring up the subject of 'us'. Was there even an 'us' yet? I guess no time like the present to find out.

"Why did you leave?" I asked.

She looked at me, and then turned away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"We have to talk about it."

"Why?"

"I need to know."

"Why?" she asked, again.

Should I tell her the real reason? I needed to know if she was going to leave me again, because I couldn't take that a second time. But, how do I say that, and not sound like a pussy?

"Please, I just need to know."

She sat down on the stone hearth facing me. "Did you tell Em and Peter to scare me like that?"

"What? Of course not! Bella, I would never, ever tell anyone something that you told me in secret. Why would you think I would do somethin' like that?"

"You're the only person I told about my nightmares. How else would they know?"

"Edward told you that I set you up like that?" I asked.

She nodded, blinking back tears.

I knelt down in front of her and reached for her hand, but stopped myself before I touched her skin. She noticed my hesitation and folded her arms across her chest, pulling away from me. I didn't want her to pull away from me, and it hurt to see it.

_Alright Whitlock, get your shit together before you really screw this up!_

"Bella, I live-we live- in a house full of super hearing vampires. I can hear a wood rat crawling over a fallen log a mile from here."

"So they overheard us talking?"

"Yeah, and believe me, they feel bad about it. Hell, we all do. Sometimes we forget that you're not a vamp yet, and not used to our ways. We invaded each other's space all the time, and it takes some getting used to."

"And you didn't tell Edward about my mother either?"

I knew the rat bastard had said something to her about her mother!

I felt myself getting angry. We couldn't control what we overheard, or even what Edward had plucked out of our thoughts, but we all had control over what we chose to do with that information. Edward had chosen poorly, and I would make him suffer for it.

"What did Edward say to you about your mother?"

She dropped her head, and refused to look at me, toying with the zipper on her jacket as a distraction. "It doesn't matter."

"Whatever he said made you leave me. So yes, it does matter." I took a deep breath and reached for her hand again. Her skin was soft, and I laced my fingers through hers. She looked up at me and two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. My heart broke. "Please tell me."

"He said that she didn't want anything to do with me, and neither would anyone else."

"Bella-"

"I know that I shouldn't have listened to him, but what he said, I had believed for my entire life anyway. And then you weren't there when I woke up, and…."

"And what?"

"And I was just feeling a little bit emotionally drained from the night before, and…well, ya know?"

I moved to sit beside her on the hearth, cautiously put my arm around her, and pulled her close to me. She snuggled into my side and rested her head on my chest. Her natural scent was sweet, and I sucked bucketfuls of the air around her into my lungs.

"What else did he say?"

"I don't want you two to fight, Jasper."

"I need to know, Bella. He put your life in danger, and-"

She pulled away slightly to look up at me. "No, _I_ made the decision to leave. I put my own life in danger."

She had a point, but the simple fact that Edward had said anything at all to her about something that he read out of my mind still made him responsible for what happened.

"I need to know, Bella; because being a vampire means that you use the utmost discretion before acting or doing something. Being in the Cullen family means that you go even beyond that. Edward put all of our lives in danger by needlessly and maliciously running his mouth about somethin' that he had absolutely no business knowin' in the first place."

She played with the zipper on her hoodie again, pulling it up, and then down. "Are you going to hurt him?"

"It depends."

"On?"

"Just tell me Bella."

She pulled away from me completely and moved to the other side of the room.

"No."

I really thought we had started to make some progress, but Bella was stubborn beyond means!

"Why?" I demanded.

"Because you didn't want to be bothered with me!" she shouted, tears in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"I understand that I am a burden to you Jasper. I know that you'd rather be with your _wife_ than me, so it doesn't matter! Just forget about all of it."

_Wife?_ What the hell was she talking about? "Bella-"

"You should just call Aro and tell him that you can't change me. I'm sure that he could get Demetri to do it instead. That will at least make Alice happy, and-"

I grabbed her by her arms and spun her around to face me. "What the fuck are you talkin' 'bout?"

"You never told me that you and Alice were married!" She yanked her arms out of my grasps and moved away from me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"That's because we _were_ married; past tense, as in 'we used to be married, but we aren't anymore'! Did that fucker tell you that we were still married?"

"No, he said that you were reconciling, and that you're still sleeping together. I am not a home wrecker, and I will not be the other woman! I don't share! You got that?"

Okay, so I was really mad now, not only at Edward for lying to her, but I was mad at her for believing it. "How could you believe him?" I demanded.

"Well she's always sneering at me, and she did try to attack me that day. And not to mention that you're always so hot one minute, and then cold the next toward me. What the hell am I supposed to believe?"

"You're supposed to come ask me!" I shouted.

"Why?"

"Why? How 'bout because I'm your mate!"

"Well you sure as hell don't act like one!" she yelled. "I may not know a lot about this mating thing, but from what I see between Em and Rose, Esme and Carlisle, and Peter and Char, what we've got going on is not what it's supposed to be about."

"What?"

"You're always yellin' at me, yankin' me around and barkin' orders at me. You don't ask me for my opinion, and you don't give me a chance to tell you mine! Plus, you said that I was a distraction and that you didn't want to be bothered with my emotions and shit! Remember?"

It felt like she had slapped me, because she was right. I was so used to Alice controlling every little thing in our relationship down to the tiniest detail, that once I had gotten out from under her dictatorship, I had turned right around and done the same thing to Bella.

_What do I do? What do I say to make this better? _

"So what does it matter if I get Demetri to change me?"

Bella took a step away from me when I growled at her mention of Demetri changing her. She was mine, and no one would touch her like that.

"Absolutely not!"

"Why?"

Peter's words floated around in my skull. _Tell her how you feel. It makes them feel warm and fuzzy. _

She was looking at me with those big round chocolate eyes, tears on the brink of spilling over.

_Say something Whitlock, don't fuck up again!_

"I-I was s-sca…I was scared when you left!" _Whew, I got it out!_

"Oh, you were?" Bella asked, a shocked look on her face.

I nodded. "And, I'm glad that you're safe."

She smiled at me, really smiled!

"Thank you."

"So, do you feel all warm and fuzzy yet?"

"Huh?"

"Umm…hold on a second, stay right there." I ran to the bedroom to get the gift I bought for her. "I bought you something," I said, pushing the small box toward her. "If you don't like it, I've got cash."

She stopped me from reaching for my wallet by placing her small hands over mine. "What's going on Jasper?" I tried to turn away, but she gently touched my face, turning me back around to face her. "What is it, why are you giving me stuff?"

"You don't want it?"

She released me and stepped back. "I want you to talk to me."

I took a deep breath and shoved my hands in my pockets, toeing the fringe on the rug. _Either shit, or get off the pot!_

"I like you!" I blurted out. When she didn't immediately bolt from the room, I continued. "I know that we haven't known each other for a long time, but I feel something for you that I can't explain, and I don't think Chelsea's mating bond had anything to do with it. I don't know how to do this, and it sca—concerns me." I touched my chest where my heart used to be. "It hurt when you went away."

I didn't know what I expected her reaction to be, but it wasn't the waterfall of tears that broke free. She collapsed onto the sofa, curled herself into a ball and cried. I couldn't even begin to sort through her emotions, because there were just too damn many of them coming from her.

I yanked on my hair in frustration. _What do I do? Fuckin' think Whitlock!_ _Think! This was not how she was supposed to react!_

I knelt down on the floor in front of the sofa, and gently patted her shoulder. "Bella, please tell me what's wrong. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

She cried harder.

"Oh shit! No, I meant that I don't like you, not that I didn't mean that I….fuck!" _How the fuck did I manage to screw this up so badly?_ _And how the fuck did she turn me into a blithering idiot without even saying a word? _I closed my eyes and took a deep breath."Okay, okay. What I meant to say is that I _do_ like you, but I didn't mean to make you cry. So please stop crying."

"You really like me?" she asked.

I smoothed her hair back, careful not to pull too hard on the strands that had stuck to her cheeks from her tears.

"Umm, yeah. A lot."

I wasn't expecting her to launch herself at me, but I caught her easily in my arms, falling back onto the floor with her on top of me.

"I like you too. A lot," she said, smiling down at me, her long hair brushing across my cheeks.

I pushed her hair out of the way. "Really?"

She nodded, framing my face with her hands. "Yeah."

"So what do we do about it?"

She sniffed, and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I have an idea. Close your eyes and hold still."

"Bella."

"Please?" she asked, poking out her bottom lip.

I couldn't help but smile and then did as she asked. And, man was I glad that I did when I felt her lips on mine! The kiss started off slow, and I could tell that she was treading in uncharted territory, so I reached up, wrapped my hand around the nape of her neck, and pulled her closer. I didn't want to take over and dominate the kiss, so I let her lead, all the while gently increasing the intensity of the kiss with my lips.

Her lips were soft, and because she was lying completely on top of me, my brain started imaging how the rest of her would feel; naked, her hot flaming skin to my cold skin. I wanted more of her; if her lips tasted this good, then the rest of her body would be a feast.

I ran my hands up and down her sides, and she moaned into my mouth when I stopped at the sides of her breasts. She was just as excited as I was, and rolled slightly to the side, hitching her leg over my hip in an invitation for me to explore further.

Slowly, all while she was kissing me, I pulled the zipper of her hoodie down. When I didn't feel any hesitation from her, I slipped a hand inside and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the good Lord above that she was only wearing a tank top underneath.

I palmed her breasts through the thin material, and felt her nipple harden at the cold temperature of my hand. Bella's hands tightened in my hair, and she pulled me closer to her. I could smell her arousal, and I could practically taste her on my tongue. I wanted to taste her everywhere, and I wanted to feel her everywhere.

And then I felt her tongue in my mouth. My Bella was bold! But it was a dangerous move, because I felt myself losing control. I shifted, rolled on top of her and pushed her hips into the carpet with my own. Bella broke the kiss, arching her back and grinding up against me.

My natural inclination was to take control and complete the mating process. Part of my brain was screaming at me to slow down, and the other part was screaming at me to mark her, and make her mine.

I licked the scar-my scar-on her neck, and she titled her head, giving me better access. I could smell her blood pumping through her veins, and my demon was shouting at me to bite her. My hand was still at her breast, when I heard the fabric of her top ripping.

"Jasper-"

"God, I want you." I pushed my hips into hers and kissed her again.

But something was wrong. Instead of kissing me back, she was pushing against me.

"No! Jasper stop!"

I heard the distress in her voice, and I was immediately up and off her, across the room in less than a second. Bella scooted across the floor, and leaned against the sofa, holding the two sides of her hoodie closed.

"God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…I…are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" I paced in the corner, yanking on my hair. I wanted to go to her and make sure that she was okay, but I was scared to approach her. I was scared that she would think I was a monster and wouldn't want me anymore.

"No, I'm okay Jasper."

"But I was…you were, fuck!" I crouched in the corner, resting my elbows on my knees and buried my hands in my hair.

Bella crawled over to me and tried to pull my hands out of my hair.

"Look at me," she ordered.

"No. I don't wanna hurt you."

"You're hurting me by shutting me out!" she yelled, pulling on my hands. "Jasper, look at me."

I slowly looked up at her. Her lips were swollen, and her eyes were still watery from all of the crying she had done earlier.

"I just wanted you to slow down," she said, pulling my arms around her waist. "Please don't stop touching me." She crawled into my lap and rested her head against my chest. "Please."

I released the breath I was holding and relaxed, pulling her closer. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked, looking up at me.

"For not running away from me; for not being scared of me."

She kissed my forehead and snuggled closer, yawning. "I'm not leaving you again, I swear. And I could never be scared of you."

I stood and picked her up in my arms. "Bed time for you human."

"But I'm not sleepy," she protested.

"Then humor me, and lay next to me while I sleep."

"Silly vampire, you can't sleep."

Her fingers were curled at the nape of my neck, slowly caressing my skin. I was starting to love the way her hands felt there. I stopped short of placing her on the bed, and looked into her eyes. She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but kiss her again.

"I'll take this—whatever _this_ is between us, as slow as you want," I said.

"Not turtle speed, but not vampire speed either. Okay?"

"Somewhere in the middle."

She nodded and suggestively winked at me. "I hear the middle is the perfect spot to be in."

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**A/N: Leave me some love! Tell me what you thought.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**You guys rock! Thanks so much for reading and taking the time out to tell me what you liked/disliked, etc. I tired to respond to the reviews, and I know some of them went through, but well, this is FFn we're talking about. For those who did not get a response from me, please know that I did read your review, and I appreciate your thoughts as well.**

**Many many thanks to my beta's: Cullen818 and JamesRamsey**

**SM owns it! I have no idea what I'm doing sometimes...hope you like it, even if I did get a little wordy.**

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**JPOV**

The slow thing was definitely not going to work for us.

We talked for hours without letup, and in between topics of conversation, we madeout and dry humped like two teenage virgins. Sometime after midnight, I finally convinced her to go to sleep, and she agreed as long as I promised to stay with her. I wrapped her in the quilt that Charlie had given her—after I told her that it was _my_ idea to get her things out of her apartment-and she fell asleep curled up next to me. I spent the rest of the night counting her heartbeats and plotting the demise of my brother.

There was no doubt in my mind that I was gonna make Edward pay for the things he said and did to my Bella. He not only ran her away from me, but he put our family in danger as well. Carlisle thought that the tongue lashing he had given Edward was enough to set him on the straight and narrow, but I knew Eddie boy probably better than anyone. I knew how devious he was, and I also knew that he would try something else if we didn't stop him first. Em, Peter and I planned to leave him alone for the moment, lull him into a false sense of security, and then, when he was least expecting it, we would puree his fingers and then set them on fire.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alice asked, coming to stand behind me.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm cooking breakfast," I said, annoyed with her interrupting my thoughts of how to torture my brother. I cracked an egg on the side of the skillet and scrambled it with a fork.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Bella has to eat."

"So why can't she cook her own breakfast?"

I flipped the pancakes and slapped a pat of butter on top of the browned sides, rubbing it around in circles while it melted. Looking at the butter melt made me think about rubbing some all over Bella and her hot little body. And then I remembered that Alice was standing behind me.

"Because I wanted to do something nice for her," I said, not taking my eyes off the pancakes.

"This is your idea of something nice?" She laughed. "Apparently you didn't learn anything while we were married. If you wanna do something nice, you bring home something shiny and expensive from Tiffany's, or Cartier."

I turned and looked at her in disbelief. Was she crazy? Doing something nice for someone didn't always involve swiping your credit card. "Why don't you go fu-"

"Jasper?" Bella said, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen.

She was still wearing her neon green pajama pants with white polka dotted bunnies and a hot pink 'cute but psycho' sleep shirt. I could see her nipples poking out against the tee shirt at me, and all I could think about was how I had had both of them in my hands a few hours earlier. My next mission was to get them in my mouth. I licked my lips just thinking about it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Alice asked, laughing. "You look like a five year old exploded on you."

We both ignored her. I thought she looked sexy as hell!

"I'm cooking your breakfast."

She came up to the stove and peered over my shoulder, unknowingly pushing her breasts against my arm. I swallowed hard and mentally counted to a thousand to calm myself down.

Alice sent a low menacing growl toward Bella, but stopped when I looked over my shoulder at her.

"Eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon and biscuits? That's so sweet, thank you!" She stood up on the tip of her toes to kiss my cheek, but hesitated when she remembered that Alice was standing within ten feet of us, and then heard her growling.

I spoke to Alice low enough for Bella not to hear, telling her that she had better back the fuck off or else, and then she turned and stomped away.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Bella asked, watching Alice leave.

"We've been divorced for ten years now, she'll be okay."

"But-"

I set the spatula down and wrapped an arm around Bella's waist, pulling her close to me and nuzzling her neck. "Don't start worrying about Alice, Bella."

We had also spent a tiny portion of our night talking about my relationship with Alice, why I chose to divorce her, and my very bad decision to carry on a physical relationship with her even after we were no longer together.

I had broken off my _sexship_ with Alice six months ago, after the last time we hooked up, telling her that I needed a clean break from her and her drama. She had stomped around the house for weeks afterwards, ripping up my clothes, destroying my room, and just creating havoc in all of our lives. Carlisle and Esme had finally gotten tired of her shit and sent her off to Italy on a two month apprenticeship with some designer Esme knew.

When the whole mess with Victoria and her newborns started, Carlisle had called for her to come back home to assist with the battle. I had thought that she would come back refreshed and ready to get on with her life apart from mine, but boy was I wrong. She seemed even clingier now than before.

But Bella had been unbelievably understanding about the whole mess, and I was not going to allow Alice to terrorize my mate.

"I'll talk to her again." I turned off the griddle and removed the pancakes. "Why don't you go on back to bed, and I'll serve you."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to."

I swatted her cut little ass as I watched it carry the rest of her out the kitchen.

"Night and day," Emmett said.

"What?" I asked.

"You're like night and day with each other. What brought about this change so fast?"

I plated Bella's food and thought about what Em asked. "I dunno," I said. "I guess I realized how much she meant to me when she left, and I really like her." I poured orange juice into a glass, and then picked up the tray of food. "And tell everyone to stay the hell away from us for the next couple of hours."

Emmett grinned at me. "Already knockin' tha boots brotha?"

"Of course not, we're taking things slowly!" I couldn't help but smile at him when I thought about it though. Bella was one incredibly sexy lady, and if our make out sessions from just one night were any indication of things to come, then I didn't know how long I could last just getting to second base.

"Yeah, right," Emmett said under his breath.

My Bella was sitting in the middle of the bed flipping through one of her photo albums when I came into the bedroom with her food. I could feel her happiness, along with a lingering tinge of sadness.

"Hey B, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting her breakfast tray down on top of the bedside table.

"Huh?" She looked up at me and dabbed at her eyes. "Oh, nothing. I was just looking at some pictures." She turned the book around for me to see. "This was on my sixteenth birthday when Charlie gave me the truck."

It was a picture of her sitting in the cab of the old truck, hanging out of the window with the keys in her hand; Charlie was grinning at her, one foot propped up on the foot runner of the 1953 Chevrolet big body truck.

"Who took the picture?"

"Jake did. Charlie bought the truck from Jake's dad, and he fixed it up and did all of the maintenance for me."

"He sounds like a good friend."

She nodded. "He was—is. What's gonna happen now Jasper?"

"With Jake?" I asked, dreading this conversation. "Don't you wanna eat first?"

"I need to know."

I crawled onto the bed behind her, and pulled her back against my chest. "I want you to know that Carlisle and Eleazar did everything they could to come to a reasonable solution with the Tribal Council."

"But?"

"But they were unwilling to concede."

"So what does all of that mean?"

"The Treaty is not bound by land territory, and if I changed you in Forks, then there's too much of a possibility that it would spark an immediate war with the wolves. Since they are not inclined to go roamin' the country lookin' for us, and out of respect for them, we'll relocate for your transformation and training."

"Where?"

"We have a little cabin and some land in British Columbia. We usually go up there once a year to clean up the place, and help control the elk population. Carlisle, Esme and Eleazar will probably head up that way later today or tomorrow to start getting things in order."

"And Jake, what did he say?"

"He spoke out against our family, and 'vowed to do everything he could to eradicate us from the planet should you become one of us'. Those were his exact words according to Eleazar."

"No," she whispered, shocked. "No! Jake is my best friend, he wouldn't do that to me!"

"Bella, this thing is bigger than all of us. Natural born instinct is hard to fight, and they are our natural enemies."

"But you and your family fight it every day when you choose not to feed from humans," she argued.

I turned her around so that she straddled my hips. "And do you know how hard that is? Imagine smelling something so delicious and so mouthwatering that you want it more than anything else in the world, and then you walk away from it. Every day is a constant struggle, especially when the temptation is lying right next to you, when you're covered in her scent and when you hear her heart beating."

I pushed her hair over her shoulder, exposing the creamy skin on her neck. I traced the path of her jugular with my fingertip. "I can see your veins pushing the blood through your body, and I know how sweet you taste." I covered my teeth with my lips, and gently nipped at her neck over my scar. "Believe me when I say, that it's takin' all of my self control, at every moment of the day to not drain you."

I felt her fingers curl in my hair as I kissed and nuzzled her neck. "A thousand thoughts go through my brain at once when I touch you. I have to calculate the amount of pressure that I exert when I do this." I slid my hands underneath her shirt, stroking her flat stomach. "Or this." My thumbs gently passed over her nipples, and she arched her back into me. "I can smell your arousal, and it drives me fuckin' crazy with need."

"Jasper," she whimpered, as I laid her back onto the bed.

I hovered over her, running my tongue down her neck as far as the tee shirt would allow. "I can imagine how you would feel from the inside; hot, wet and tight over me," I whispered against her skin. "But before we even got that far, I would bury my face in between your thighs," I pushed her tee shirt upwards and plunged my tongue into her belly button, "and I would fuck you with my tongue." I moved my tongue back and forth, and up and down in her belly button, simulating what it would feel like a few inches further south. "How would you like that Isabella?"

"Please, please," she whispered. "God, what are you doing to me?"

I knew it was a mistake when I doubled the amount of lust she was tossing out and threw it right back at her. Her hands fisted in my shirt, and she pulled me up to her, attacking my mouth with her own.

This conversation was not supposed to go like this. Bella was supposed to be eating her breakfast, and then we were going to discuss what she wanted to do with the rest of her time as a human. We had both agreed to take things slowly, and now we had let our emotions go too far and here we were on the verge of messing things up.

"Bella baby, we have to slow down."

"No, I want you. I want everything you just said," she said, pushing me over onto my back and practically ripping the buttons off of my shirt.

Even when I withdrew the lust that I had thrown at her, she continued trying to undress me. Her hands were on the buckle of my jeans, and it took everything I had to stop her. "B, not here."

"What? You don't want to?" she asked, a hurt expression on her face.

"Uh no, I really want to." At the doubtful look she gave me, I shifted my hips upward and let her feel how much I wanted her. "But not here, in a house full of vampires listening to everything we do." I felt ashamed of myself for getting her so worked up in the first place, knowing that there were nine other vampires somewhere within hearing distance of us.

"Oh," she said, and reddened with embarrassment when she realized that very thing.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have started something like that here."

She laid her head down on my chest. "No, it's okay. I'll have to eventually get used to them hearing everything anyway."

I pulled her quilt over and tucked it around her. "If we do decide to do this, then I don't want an audience outside the door, cheerin' us on."

She giggled, running her hand up and down my bare chest. "Yeah, I don't think we need Em or Peter's play-by-play sports commentary on deflowering the human virgin."

I internally groaned at her choice of words. I knew that Bella had never been with anyone in that way before, but until she said it, I guess it wasn't really real to me that _I_ would be her first sexual encounter, and my brain did a mental fist pump at that thought. The word 'virgin' sparked a million different thoughts all at once.

My brain was firing questions at me left and right. Would we do the deed before or after her transformation? If we did it before, would we have to use a condom? I was pretty sure that I couldn't get her pregnant, but stranger things have happened—I mean, this was Bella we were talking about. And, if we didn't use a condom, then would my venom hurt her _down_ there? I knew that our semen was a milder form of the venom that we secreted orally when feeding, but what would really happen once it was inside her? And, the good Lord willing, what would happen if she _ingested_ it?

That particular thought had my dick harder than before, and Bella quirked an eyebrow up at me. I grinned and just shrugged it off.

But, given the new extra hard on that I was currently sporting, and the fact that Bella was lying completely on top of me—and him—what would sex be like for her? I knew that, vampire or not, it would hurt her. But would she want to do it again, or would I screw up and mess it up for any future encounters? Or, would she turn into some crazy newborn vamp, hyped up on her own human blood, prowling the country side looking for edible humans and sex? I could see her now, hair wild, blood running down her chin and her clothes half way hanging off, destroying villages and everything in her wake.

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath at that thought. But what if I couldn't keep up with _her_ sexual needs? Would she go looking for someone else? Except for the human blood part, Eddie boy was right up there when it came to prowling for sex. Would she dump me and hook up with him?

"What are you growling about?" Bella asked me.

"Huh? Nothing," I said, and shifted her off of my dick, hoping that it would stop the tirade of thoughts running through my head.

But, no such luck. My mind just had to go _there _again.

What if she did zap me before we actually did it? What about while we were doing it? What if when she touched him, _he_ went limp and I couldn't get him up again? That thought had me damn near ready to run out for a bottle of that erectile dysfunction shit that that politician on TV is always hockin'. Maybe I should be doing some sort of exercises with him to make sure that he's ready in case somethin' like that did happen. Were there exercises for penises? I mean, I jacked off on a regular basis like any other cold blooded male vamp, but was that enough to counteract her zap? Or what about one of those penis pump things. Did they still make those? I made a mental note to do some research later.

"Jasper," Bella said, waving her hand in my face. "Earth to Jasper, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm okay. Just thinkin' 'bout some stuff I need to research." I kissed her forehead. "Will you eat now, before it gets cold?"

Her stomach growled. "Yeah, I think I'd better. Where did you learn to cook anyway?"

I shrugged. "I know a few things."

She bit into the pancakes and chewed appreciatively. "You should teach Esme then, this is really good."

"I heard that human!" Esme shouted from somewhere in the house.

"Aww mom, you know I love you anyway!" Bella shouted back.

"So what do you want to do with your remaining few days?" I asked her, twirling a section of her hair around my finger.

"I've been thinking about that, and I don't think I want to continue with the list."

"What? Why not?"

She shrugged and chewed slowly, thinking about her words. "Edward was kinda right. I was using the list to prove that my life was full and meaningful. But, after talking to Renee, and then the whole thing with Jane and Demetri, and now us, I don't think I need it. I had a wonderful childhood, and a loving parent. And, being apart of this family, for however long makes my life full and meaningful."

I didn't like the uncertain tone in her voice when she said 'us', but now was not the time to pick that apart. I would address that one later. "What do ya mean, for however long?"

"Jasper, I have to leave in thirteen months. So, for as long as I'm with you guys, and even afterwards I'm sure that there will be times when our paths cross, I'll always know that I have a home with the Cullens."

"That's right Bella, our home is your home," Carlisle said.

_Was every fuckin' body listening to our conversation?_

"And don't forget the Whitlocks," Peter said from down the hall. "Your home is with us too!"

_Yup, everyone was listening!_

"And the Whitlock's," Bella agreed. She finished her breakfast and set the plate down on the bedside table. She leaned back against the headboard and stared at me expectantly.

_And, Jasper_, I thought, but didn't say out loud. _You're home is with me too_.

Bella's face fell, and she turned away. _Why the hell didn't I say it?_ Technically, Peter said the Whitlock's, and I was a Whitlock long before he was—hell, I _made_ him a Whitlock. So that included me too, right? No! What the fuck was wrong with me? I wanted to say it; it was on the tip of my tongue. But, I couldn't say it now, because then it would seem like I only said it because everyone else did!

_FUCK!_

_Change the subject Jasper, and quick! Make it a neutral topic!_

I propped up on an elbow at the end of the bed and began rubbing her feet. "Umm, so how 'bout those Mariners?"

"Huh?"

"So, no bucket list? What do you want to do then?" I asked.

Emmett burst through the bedroom door. "What? No bucket list? C'mon Bella, you're killin' me here."

"Get the hell out of here Emmett!" I yelled at him. "And stop listenin' to our conversation!"

"I can't help but listen jackass, it's not like you two are exactly keepin' your voices down."

"No bucket list?" Char asked, popping her head in the open door. "Ya gotta do the list Bella."

"Yeah," Rose said, coming to flop down on the bed. "You got some really good stuff on there."

I had been carrying the list around since the night I took it from Emmett at the bar, so I pulled it out of my pocket and unfolded it.

"We've got four days before we leave for Canada." I turned the list around for her to see. "Pick out some stuff that you absolutely, without a doubt want to do before your time is up."

"Pick number four!" Emmett yelled, jumping up and down. "Number four! Four!"

I took the list back and looked at it. "She's not doing number four Emmett," I said. "And, that's not even Bella's handwriting. You put that on here!"

"Aww c'mon Jazz, number four is not that bad," Emmett protested.

"What is number four?" Bella asked, peering over my shoulder.

"Sorry B, but I'm laying the law down. We are not, no matter how much Emmett begs, gonna ride motorcycles naked across the state of Washington."

"What?" Rose asked and swatted him.

"Oww babe, that hurt!" Emmett said, rubbing his arm where his mate hit him. "Think about it Bells, the wind in our hair, sun rays kissin' our ass—"

"The police locking us up," Bella said. "Sorry Em, but that one's a no go."

"No, let's do number six," Rose said.

Bella scanned the list and smiled. "I like number six. But how are we gonna pull that off?"

"Leave all the details to me. You just be ready to go in two hours," she said, and ran out of the room dragging her husband and mate behind her.

"What about you Char?" Bella asked, passing the list to her.

Char shook her head. "It's your list Bella, we're just your tag alongs. I'll be happy with doing whatever it is that you wanna do." She kissed Bella's cheek and disappeared down the hall.

"So, number six?" I asked.

Bella nervously smiled at me. "I wrote it on impulse. I had no idea that Rose would even consider doing it."

"You don't have to do it, if you don't want," I offered.

"No, I wanna do it. It'll be fun."

"What else do you wanna do?"

She thought about it for a moment, and I felt her grief. "Well, I wouldn't mind calling Jake, just to hear his voice one last time and to tell him that he's my best friend, and that I won't ever forget him."

"Okay, and?"

Bella smiled brightly at me and then I felt her emotions turn off, a sure sign that she had popped up her shield. In between all of the talking and making out that we had done the previous night, we had also worked a little with her learning to control her shield. We figured out that if she concentrated on one central thing, like she had done when she took Demetri down, then she could manipulate and pop the shield out around her.

Sadly, the same was not true with her energy draining ability, and she had unknowingly zapped me once or twice when we tested it. Fortunately, they were minor, little zaps, and she had not drained me too badly.

We also learned that it was easier for me to work one-on-one with her instead of having an audience of my dickhead brothers around laughing and distracting her.

Bella reached for the list and then a pen in the bedside table drawer. She scribbled something on the paper and folded it back up.

"I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready to go."

"Wait a sec, what was that you put on the list?"

She winked at me and tossed the list to me before shutting the bathroom door. I quickly tore it open, being careful not to tear the folded and refolded paper.

_Well_, I thought, _that answers one of my questions_.

At the bottom of the paper, Bella had scribbled a three letter word.

_SEX_

_So um yeah, we were definitely kicking this into over drive!_

**BPOV**

_Why, oh why, did I write that on the list?_

Did I want to have sex with Jasper? The answer to that was simple. Hell yes! But was I ready for it? The answer to that wasn't as clear.

So many things had happened in the last twenty four hours that it made my head spin. I just needed some time alone to think about what had all gone down between Jasper and I. He was almost a completely different person, doing things for me and asking me my opinions on matters. Where had this Jasper been a week ago?

And, where would _we_ be in thirteen months?

I was a hundred percent certain that there was major, light up the night attraction between us, and with all of the making out we had done the night before, I was surprised that the bed hadn't caught fire from the sparks between us. But just because two people were sexually compatible—at least I was guessing we were—didn't mean that that was enough to build a solid relationship on. The fact that Jasper had still been sleeping with his _ex- wife_ up until six months ago proved that.

I could understand the physical need to be with someone, but was that all there was between _us_? Was he just in this to scratch an itch? But, when it all came down to it, did it really even matter anyway?

In thirteen months I would be on a flight to Italy. There was no way to change that. A family of nine vampires—seven if Alice and Edward refused to help-would never be able to go up against the Volturi and win. And, why would they, who was I to them? Yes, they took me in and adopted me of sorts for right now, but when it really came down to it, would Carlisle be willing to risk his life, or that of his mate's, for me? And, would I want them to?

No. I could never ask anyone to do that. How could I live for the rest of eternity knowing that someone had died for me? That is, if it even came down to that. The Volturi would probably destroy all of us on the spot, and let our ashes blow in the wind before the first punch was ever thrown.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Bella, baby what's wrong?" Jasper asked.

"What?" I asked over the loud spray of water.

"You're throwin' off all kinds of emotions in there. Is somethin' wrong?"

How do I tell him what's wrong, when I didn't even know how to explain it to myself?

"No, I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure? I mean, you can tell me anything."

"Maybe later, okay?"

He didn't say anything for a while, and I thought that he had gone until I heard his fingers tapping on the door. "Bella…your home is with me too," he said softly. "You know that, right?"

My heart leapt in my chest, and I shoved the wash cloth in my mouth to keep from crying out. "I…thank you," I said softly, tears running down my cheeks.

"The guys and I were gonna take Eddie boy out huntin' before we leave, but I can stay behind if you need me to."

"No, I'll be fine. You go have fun." I didn't miss the meaning in his words. Taking Edward out hunting meant that they were probably going to beat the crap out of him and hide his legs in the woods. I knew that it was pointless to try to talk Jasper out of it, so I didn't even try.

"Are you sure? I don't mind stayin'."

I turned the water off and wrapped a towel around my body before opening the bathroom door. "I'll be fine. You guys go have fun."

I had only opened the door a crack, but I knew the exact second my scent hit him, because he grabbed me all of a sudden, yanking the door open and pushing me back against the wall.

So this was what he was talking about when he said that natural born instinct was hard to fight. I had totally forgotten when I opened the door that the steam from the shower would intensify my scent. How long had he gone without feeding? He was so busy trying to find me, then taking care of me and making sure that my needs were met, that he had neglected himself. As his mate, I should have been more attentive to _his_ needs.

"Jasper," I said, trying not to move. If he was in hunt mode, I knew that any sudden movements might make him attack.

He was sniffing my neck, and licking my scar now. I didn't know whether to be turned on or scared to death.

"God, you smell so good," he said, before running his tongue along the area under my ear.

Okay yeah, I was definitely turned on. But common sense won out, and I slowly pulled away from him. His eyes were black with either hunger or lust-whichever one it was; it was a dangerous combination with me standing there in nothing but a towel.

"Hey man, let's go already," Emmett said, popping up behind Jasper. "Wow Bella in a towel! Lookin' good girlie. I thought you said that you two weren't knockin' tha boots yet Jazz!"

"Quit lookin' at my mate," Jasper growled, gazing at me like he wanted to eat me—and not in the Dracula, I'm gonna suck your blood type way. "And, I'm not goin'."

"Aww c'mon man! Petey's already got the hangin' tree picked out for Eddie!"

"Jasper, you have to go," I said. "Your eyes are black with hunger."

"No, I'm fine," he said. His hands were on my ass, and he was pushing his very prominent hard on against me.

"J-Jasper," I panted. My vajay-jay was sending messages to my legs to open wide, but my nun, habit wearing conscience was closing the gate on her wantonly ways.

_Damn you conscience, can't I just do something naughty for once?_

"Let's go man!" Emmett clamped a hand on Jasper's shoulder and pulled him off of me. "You've got plenty of time for that later. We got a date to kick Edward's ass right now."

Jasper pulled out of Emmett's grasp and turned back to me. "I'll be back in no time, okay?" He leaned down and kissed me quickly, slipping his tongue in my mouth and grabbing my ass again. "And, we've got some serious talkin' to do 'bout what you just wrote on that list."

I bit my lip, blushing. "Umm…we don't…"

Jasper tisked at me, pulling my lip out from between my teeth with his thumb. "You were brave enough to write it, so you gotta be brave enough to talk about it."

"Okay," I squeaked out, looking at the floor.

Jasper leaned forward, kissing my forehead. "And, I can't wait to put your words into action," he whispered.

With a gust of wind they were both gone.

_No, come back_! My vajay-jay screamed out, clutching Jasper's leg.

He was right, if I were brave enough to write it, then I needed to be mature enough to talk about it, and to follow through with it. And the way my vagina was screaming at me, I knew that taking things slow was not gonna happen.

After I calmed my libido down, I finished dressing, deciding to let my hair dry naturally and went back into the bedroom to pack.

I was half way finished folding my clothes when I remembered that I hadn't seen the gift that Jasper had given me the night before. It was a cylinder stainless steel time capsule with my initials and the date of my transformation engraved on the side of it. He said that we would bury it together and then fifty years from now dig it up.

Jasper had placed it on the dresser before we went to bed the previous night, and now it was gone. I searched the entire room, even dumping out my backpack of freshly folded clothes looking for it.

Not finding it in my backpack, I dropped to my knees to look under the bed. "Oh no!"

I felt the tears prickle in my eyes as I pulled out the hunk of twisted metal of all that was left of Jasper's gift. I sat down on the edge of the bed, cradling my gift against my chest. There was only one person who would be so mean and vindictive. And, there was only one person whose hands were that small, I thought, as I looked at the finger indentations in the metal.

_Alice!_

I had never been one of those girls who went around school looking for a fight. And because I had been content with sitting at lunch reading a book or talking to my one good friend Angela, I had usually been the one the mean girls targeted. So to say that I was completely out of my element when it came to plotting against someone was an understatement.

I closed my mind to every noise and sensation around me, totally blocking out the world around me except for one singular thought, Jasper. While we had been working on controlling my shield, Jasper had urged me to concentrate on one thing in particular, and I had chosen his voice, the way he looked and the way he made me feel. He was the only thing I thought about when I had taken Demetri down, and it was what I concentrated on now to keep Alice from _seeing_ me.

And, when the sunlight pouring in through the window glinted off the handle of the pocket knife that Jake had given me as my high school graduation present, inspiration struck. I snatched up the knife and made my way to the room that Alice was using as her dressing room.

Charlie had once told me that the best way to defeat an enemy was to not become like them. He had always told me to take the high road, and let the other person show how immature _they_ were. My father was a wise man, but in this case he was wrong.

The high road my ass! If she wanted to get ghetto, then we would get mothafuckin' ghetto!

Alice's neatly packed suitcase was lying open, and as I began running my blade through her fine silk blouses, cashmere sweaters, and cutting holes in the crotch of her designer denim jeans, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. I was not going to let that bitch get away with her shit.

I knew that all of the stuff I was cutting up amounted to nothing compared to the mountains of clothes that she had back in Forks, and that with the click of a mouse she could and would replace everything that I was destroying. But I couldn't even describe the amount of glee that came over me when I craved my initials in the toe of her Jimmy Choo's.

_I.M.W—Isabella Marie Whitlock. That's right bitch, I'm a Whitlock!_

Next, I went on a scavenger hunt, yanking the kitchen cabinets open and pulling out the drawers. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but this was a hunting cabin, and I knew that I would eventually find something to fit my needs.

My inner deviant did a little happy dance when I found the duct tape and a lighter. I pulled on my jacket, making sure to tuck my accessories away. I was going vamp huntin'.

X-X-X-X

I was a crazed woman on a mission, but I didn't know what the hell I was doing. How does a human catch a vampire? The obvious answer was with blood. But if I cut myself out in the middle of the woods, every vamp I knew, and possibly some that I didn't know, would be on my ass in a matter of seconds. And I didn't wanna end up looking like Swiss cheese should the unknown vamps show up.

If I dropped my shield, then Alice would be able to find me, and I needed the element of surprise on my side. I stomped around in the woods for a while, keeping Jasper's face at the forefront of my mind, and trying to formulate a plan at the same time.

_Oh fuck, there she was!_

And why was she out in the open, standing on top of a boulder? She was holding something in her hand with her arm was extended above her head. What the hell was this crazy ass bitch up to?

"Dammit, why didn't I get the fuckin' satellite phone? Damn country ass, middle of nowhere New York," she mumbled. "We shoulda left her ass with her psycho momma. C'mon Aro, pick up your phone!"

_Aro_? Why the hell was she calling Aro? Was she in cahoots with him, against me? I could see why she hated me, but was she trying to get her family killed too? Because that was what would surly happen if the head daddy vamp found out about my little running away stunt.

Knowing that I had to get her off of that phone, I crept up behind her. I couldn't believe my luck! Even with her standing on top of the boulder, she was still within arm's reach, and wearing a mini skirt and high heel ankle boots!

_Happy, happy joy, joy!_

I pulled off my gloves and slapped my hands around her _bare_ legs.

_ZAP! S_kin-to-skin contact!

She let out a blood curdling scream. The phone went one way, and Alice went another, tumbling down off the boulder, head over designer heels. My initial touch was enough to make her fall, but I knew that I had to act fast or I was going to be mince meat once she got her strength back. So I fell on top of her, making sure to keep at least one hand on some part of her exposed flesh at all times.

"You fuckin' skuzzy ass bitch!" I screamed at her. "He's mine, you got that? MINE!"

"You trashy slut, get the fuck off of me!" she yelled back at me.

I was straddling her, one of my hands around her throat, and one of hers around mine. I could feel the tingle of the drain still working and she was weakening by the second, but I didn't know how much more either of us could take. I had never been in a fight before, and definitely not with a vampire, so I didn't really know what to do.

"Stay away from us!" I shouted.

"You'll never be able to satisfy him like I can!" she screamed back. "I'm his rightful mate!"

She pushed me over and we rolled around in the snow for a bit, still locked together.

Even though she was fighting me back with the strength of a normal human, her skin was still rock hard, so punching her was out of the question. I slammed her head against the ground a couple of times, but nearly lost my grip around her throat so I had to stop. My survival depended on me keeping my hands on her.

I saw a small rock lying next to her head, and I picked it up with one hand, brought it down in her face. A small chuck of her forehead broke off, and I cackled like a witch at seeing it. Her shock at feeling her forehead cave in gave me time to fumble in my pocket for one of my accessories. With one hand, while she bucked and screamed, I pulled out the lighter. Alice's eyes got big saucers when she saw it.

I did a mental fist pump. _That's right, who's the crazy bitch now? Yeah baby, I am!_

I flicked the button and held the flame next to her face. Whether it was because I had nearly drained her unconscious, or because she was truly afraid of what I was about to do, she immediately stopped struggling with me.

"Listen you stupid troll midget, Jasper is _my_ man, and if I catch you anywhere around him, or me again, I will light your vamp ass up! You got that? "

I didn't get a chance to hear her answer, because I felt someone grab me from behind around my waist and yank me off of her. The lighter fell out of my hands and hit her in the middle of her caved in forehead. She screamed and flailed her arms around before completely going still on the ground when she realized that she wasn't on fire.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jasper demanded.

"Whoot hoot! Cat fight!" Emmett yelled, scooping up the lighter. "Go Bella!"

"What the hell?" Peter said. He reached down, hauled Alice to her feet and then scooped up the missing portion of her forehead. He slapped it back in place and she groaned, slumped against him, drained of energy.

I was still in fight mode, so I struggled against Jasper, kicking and screaming. "Let me go! I'm gonna set that bitch on fire!"

"Bella!" He shook me a little, his hands on the collar of my jacket, to get my attention. "Bella cut it out before you hurt yourself!"

His voice seemed to resonate in my head, and I immediately stopped struggling against him and burst into tears. I felt my shield drop and I nearly collapsed. "Jasper."

His face softened, and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a tiny half dazzling smile before he scooped me up into his arms. "It's okay B. Shh, it's okay." He kissed my forehead and cradled me in his arms. "Peter, you and Em take Alice back to the cabin, would ya? We're gonna go for a little walk."

Jasper walked easily through the woods, carrying me over tree roots, rocks and underbrush. He moved stealthy, like a cat, not once stumbling or upsetting his load.

"Okay," he said, sitting down on a fallen tree. "Tell me what happened."

I wiped my tears on the sleeve of my jacket. "I think I've lost my mind."

_Duh_, my conscious said, _you'd have to be crazy to attack a vampire!_

He laughed, a hearty sound that shook him from his core, and then kissed my forehead again. "I would say that that's an accurate assumption given that you just attacked a vampire."

"Don't laugh at me," I pouted, angry that he was agreeing with my inner little voice.

He pushed my hair off my face. "What size straight jacket should I buy you?"

"Okay, that's so not funny!" I said, trying to get off his lap.

"I'm sorry B, I'm sorry. Now tell me what's going on." He pulled me close, apologizing but still laughing. "Wait, what is this?" He pulled the roll of duct tape out of my pocket, holding it up. "What were you gonna do with this?"

"I dunno, tape her to a tree or somethin'. I didn't have any rope."

He laughed again. "You know that wouldn't have kept her restrained once she got her strength back?"

"I know, but by then her hair would have been on fire or something," I mumbled.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh God. Now tell me what happened."

"She crushed my time capsule."

I felt him stiffen. "So you just attacked her?"

I nodded.

"Why didn't you let me handle it?"

I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, but his question sure set me off.

"Because sometimes a woman's gotta stand up for herself and what's hers!" I screamed at him.

He didn't say anything at first, and then he was kissing me, his lips greedily consuming mine. His hands were buried in my hair, pulling me close to him, and turning me whichever way he wanted.

"Say it."

"What?" I asked, panting from his surprise kiss.

"You know what," he said, running his nose and then lips along my jaw line.

I kissed his chin, and then upward, tugging on his bottom lip with my teeth. "You're MINE."

I could feel him grinning against my cheek before repeating it. "You're MINE."

"Hey guys," Emmett said, cautiously approaching us. "Carlisle just called a family meeting, and someone's gonna go down."

* * *

**A/N:So how many of you saw that coming?**

**I certainly didn't! It surprised even me, and I'm the one writing it! Heehee!**

**Let me know what you think about UFC Bella! Leave me some lovin'!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Big thanks to all of you who are reading, reviewing, and rec'ing this fic out. Muchas gracias !**

**Much love to my betas: Cullen818 and JamesRamsey.**

**This chapter is kinda long. It starts off serious, has a few laughing moments, some fluff and even a little citrus thrown in. Enjoy!**

**SM owns it.**

* * *

**JPOV**

I was walking a fine line between wanting to kill my brother and handicapping him for the next century. My demon wanted him dead, but the humane part of me wanted to reason with him. I kicked one of his legs out of my way as I paced in front of his torso.

We had pulled his legs off, and after listening to him curse and berate us for the last hour, he had finally started to realize that insulting us was not the way to get his limbs back.

"Why Edward?" I asked. "Why would you say those things to her?"

"What does it matter, she'll be gone in thirteen months anyway?" He struggled in the hold that Emmett had him in.

"No, that's not gonna happen," I argued.

"What are you gonna do, fight the Volturi over her? She can't be that great in bed," he mumbled.

Peter grabbed my arm before I reached Edward, yanking me backwards. "Focus Major."

"Yes," Emmett responded before I could. "Yes, we will fight whoever wants to take her from us."

I looked at Emmett with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged at me. "I never had a little sister before. I like Bella, and I want her to stay with us."

I then looked at Peter. "You know how I feel about her."

I felt their brotherly love for my Bella, and it comforted me to know that they wanted her in our family too. But, I wasn't willing to risk our entire family in a fight against the Volturi for Bella. No, I had made up my mind about how to resolve the situation.

I would join the Guard to be with her.

"No, we are not fighting the Volturi for her right to stay with us," I said, but held my hand up when Emmett and Peter started to protest. "I've decided to join the Guard to be with her."

"What the fuck, you can't do that!" Emmett yelled.

"And why can't I?"

"Because we're your family, and families stick together!" Peter yelled.

I paced in front of Edward's prone position on the ground. "Just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean that we're not family. It just means that we'll see each other less often."

"Have you talked to Carlisle about it?" Peter asked. "'Cause he may have a way to get her out of this."

"You know that there is no other way Peter."

"Rosie and I talked about it," Em said, taking a deep breath. "And, we're prepared to stand with you in a fight against the Volturi."

"No Em, I can't let you do that."

"You don't have a choice, 'cause Char and I are standing with you as well."

"Peter-"

"And we're sure Carlisle and Esme will too," Em said.

"Well you can count me out, 'cause I ain't committing suicide for no one," Edward said.

I knelt down in front of him and put my hand around his throat. "You won't need to commit suicide, if I kill you first!"

"You would _try_ to kill me, over a human! How stupid are you?" Edward asked.

Peter held up one of his legs. "Hey Eddie boy, I would watch who you call stupid."

"And who you doubt can kill you," Em added.

"You are responsible for putting her in danger; for putting us all in danger. What do you think Aro would have done to all of us if Demetri had found Bella first?"

"Our family is too gifted for Aro to eliminate all of us," Edward said. "And besides, he wouldn't kill me, he likes me."

"No dumbass, our _gifted_ family is a threat to Aro and the Guard. We're the largest vamp family around." I squeezed his throat, my fingers digging into his flesh as I threatened to take his head completely off. "And since I don't like you, Imma 'bout to reduce our members."

But before I could show Edward how much I didn't like him, I heard a woman scream.

After fifty years of hearing her scream at me, I knew Alice's scream anywhere.

"_You fuckin' skuzzy ass bitch!" _I heard Bella scream next.

"What the hell?" Peter asked, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

I felt my chest tighten at the thought of Alice hurting my Bella.

"Girl fight!" Emmett yelled, releasing Edward and took off running after me, leaving our brother leg-less on the ground.

If I hadn't been a former recipient of Bella and her gift, and seen for myself my _human _mate sitting on top of a vampire _and_ holding her down, I would have said that it was a bold face lie and laughed my ass off.

After detaching her from Alice, I could feel a mixture of embarrassment and fear coming from my Bella, so I took her away, deeper into the woods to talk to her. As it was, I was doing my best to stop laughing, because the more I laughed, the madder Bella got.

I held her close, apologizing but still laughing. "I'm sorry B, I'm sorry. Now tell me what's going on."

"She crushed my time capsule."

I told myself that I needed to stay calm. It wasn't that I was so mad that Alice had destroyed my gift to Bella- that could easily be replaced-but it was that fact that my Bella was literally heartbroken over it, and she had put herself in yet another dangerous situation. "So you just attacked her?"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you let me handle it?"

_Be cool Jasper_, I thought. _Just give her time to explain._

I think my question set her off.

"Because sometimes a woman's gotta stand up for herself and what's hers!" she screamed at me.

I didn't say anything at first, because I was momentarily stunned at her outburst. By attacking Alice, my Bella was publicly laying claim to _me_, and it turned me on. And then I was kissing her.

"Say it," I demanded.

"What?" she asked, panting from my surprise kisses.

"You know what."

She kissed my chin, and then upward, tugging on my bottom lip with her teeth before she smiled at me. "You're MINE."

I grinned against her cheek before repeating it. "You're MINE."

"Hey guys," Emmett said, cautiously approaching us. "Carlisle just called a family meeting, and someone's gonna go down."

X-X-X-X

Alice was lying on the sofa when we got to the cabin, forearm draped over her newly remodeled forehead, and moaning. I could sympathize with the way she was feeling physically; it wasn't too long ago that I had been on the receiving end of Bella's gift, and I knew that it came with a wicked headache. But I could also tell that she was moaning a little too freely. She was clearly faking, and doing a poor job of it too.

Bella and I were the last to arrive, and I pulled her down to the oversized chair to sit in my lap. Alice cocked an eyebrow in our direction and moaned louder; Bella looked at me and rolled her eyes. I laughed and kissed her cheek.

Carlisle sat forward in his chair, eyes closed with his elbows on his knees and fingers steeple together as if he were praying. He looked around at us before speaking.

"The members in this family used to behave in a manner that bespoke a fine upbringing. We used to discuss current events with each other, we used to read books and have open discussions on ancient theories of the world, we respected each other's privacy, and we use to think things through before acting rashly."

When he stood and began pacing in front of us I knew he was about to lose it.

"So I want to know what the hell happened to my family?" he shouted. "There must be something in the air that's making you all act like damn fools, because there simply isn't another rational explanation for your behavior!"

Esme stood up. "Carlisle-"

"Not another word Esme," Carlisle snapped. "I'm not ready to calm down just yet."

_Oh shit, he was really mad now!_ As long as I had known him, Carlisle had never snapped at Esme before.

"Since we all live together as a family, then we need to come to an understanding about a few things," Carlisle said, still pacing.

The back door of the cabin opened and Edward strolled in.

_How the fuck did he get his legs back on that fast?_

"And you," he pointed at me.

_Me?_

"Me?" I asked.

"You are not allowed to take your brother's legs off!" Carlisle shouted at me.

_What the fuck?_

Was he crazy? Carlisle knew better than to yell at me. I wasn't like his pussy ass son, hidin' behind momma's skirt. I was a fucking man!

I jumped up out of the chair, almost forgetting that Bella was sitting on my lap. I caught her before she hit the floor, and faintly heard Alice snickering.

"I think you'd better watch your tone with me Carlisle," I said through clenched teeth. "And if I catch him within sniffin' distance of my mate, I'll take off more than his legs next time."

"She's not your mate!" Alice yelled, rolling off the sofa onto her feet. "I AM!"

"What, you didn't get enough of me?" Bella asked, rolling up her sleeves and taking a step forward. "You want some more of this bitch? Bring it!"

Alice crouched low—on wobbly feet-and growled at my mate. I knew better than to restrain Bella by grabbing her arms, so I latched on to the hood of her jacket and yanked her back behind me.

"Let me handle this please," I whispered to Bella. "Please."

She looked up at me and rolled her eyes, smirking. "Fine, whatever."

I took a step forward and grabbed Alice's arm, pushing her back down to the sofa. "This is your last warning Alice. Back the fuck off, or the next time it will be me holding the lighter over your face."

She ripped her arm out of my grasp. "You know Carlisle, we all didn't start actin' like this until she came along," Alice said, pointing at Bella. "I say that once we get rid of her, we'll all feel a little better. Right, Rose? Char?"

Wordlessly, Rose and Char moved to stand behind Bella.

"Em? Peter?" Alice asked, nearly hysterical now.

Emmett and Peter moved to stand with their wives.

"What? You're taking her side against me?" Alice screamed, jumping up.

"We're not against you Alice, we're just tired of your shit," Char said.

"My shit? This trashy whore stole my husband, my mate, and you're tired of my shit? You're supposed to be _my_ sisters!"

"For the last time, I AM NOT YOUR MATE!" I screamed at her.

Esme stood up and grabbed Alice's arm, swinging her around to face her. "Mary Alice Brandon, listen to me right now! Stop living in a delusional world and wake up! Jasper _divorced_ you ten years ago! You are not his true mate, and you never have been!"

"My name is Whitlock! It's Mary Alice Whitlock," she screamed, and stomped around.

Funny, she never wanted to take my last name when we were together, and now, after fifty years of hell and ten years of being divorced, she was claiming Whitlock like she had some sort of rights to the name.

She looked like a little demented troll doll stomping around the cabin with her hair sticking straight up and quivering every time she took a step.

"Enough!" Carlisle shouted. "Sit down and shut up Alice!"

Alice sat down and crossed her arms, sulking.

_Was this chick for real? She had bigger problems than we thought!_

"Now Edward," Carlisle said in somewhat of a calmer voice. "I want to know what's really going on between you and Jasper."

Edward looked at me and shrugged. "Nuthin'."

Edward was trying hard to hide the fury he was throwing off.

"Nuthin'," Carlisle said, imitating Edward's voice. "Jasper, do you want to enlighten the rest of us."

"Honestly Carlisle, I don't know." I reached behind me searching for Bella's hand.

She laced her fingers through mine, accidentally sending me a little zap with it. It took my breath away, and my whole body went numb for a few seconds.

"Sorry," Bella mumbled.

I squeezed and then kissed her hand when she tried to pull away. "It's okay baby." I turned back to Carlisle. "Other than what he said to Bella, I have no issues with him."

Carlisle looked back and forth between Edward and I, and then to Alice and I, before speaking again. "Both of you listen to me," he said to Edward and Alice. "I don't know what is going on with you Edward, and I don't know why you choose to live in a fantasy world Alice, but Bella is a part of our family now, and you will treat her with respect not only as Jasper's mate, but because as an individual, she deserves it. Do you understand?"

Edward exhaled loudly and nodded his agreement.

"Alice, you are not to interfere with Jasper and his relationship with Bella. Is that clear?"

She didn't answer.

Carlisle clamped a hand on her shoulder, squeezing hard. "Is that clear Mary Alice?"

"Yes," she said softly.

Carlisle ran his fingers through his hair. "And that goes for you too Edward. You stay away from both of them, or you won't like the consequences. All of your drama ends here!"

Bella stepped forward. "Excuse me Carlisle."

He took a deep breath and turned to face her. "Yes sweetheart?"

"Alice was calling Aro when I attacked her."

And then all hell broke loose.

Alice attacked, snarling, growling and snapping her teeth at Bella. I snatched my mate out of the way just in time, and crouched low to protect her. My demon was ready to pounce and rip Alice to pieces if needed.

It took both Carlisle and Emmett to hold Alice down, but it didn't take long before what little strength she had left after Bella's initial attack began to fade.

Emmett sat on the floor with Alice wedged between his legs. He had both of his massive arms around her tiny body like shackles, ensuring that if she got another burst of energy and tried to attack again, she would be restrained.

I eased out of my crouched position, but held my mate securely behind me and away from danger.

"Bella, tell me what you heard," Carlisle said.

I loosened the hold around Bella and let her step forward a little. "She couldn't get a signal on her cell phone because of the mountains, so she was standing on a big boulder trying to get a clearer reception. I heard her say, ''C'mon Aro, pick up your phone'."

"You're a liar!" Alice yelled, struggling in the hold Emmett had on her.

"Honey, are you sure?" Esme asked.

Bella nodded. "Check her phone."

"Where's your phone, Alice?" Rose asked.

"Fuck you bitch!" Alice screamed. "Fuck all you bitches!"

"Alice," Emmett said. "Don't make me bite you! Sit still!"

"Why Alice?" Carlisle asked. "Why would you do this to our family?"

"So what if I did call Aro; I hate her! She stole my life and I want her to die!" Alice started screaming and then her screams turned to howls.

I had never heard of a vampire going crazy, but then again, stranger things were happening every day.

"Esme, call Carmen. Tell her that we're going to need her assistance with a delicate matter," Carlisle said, and turned around to face all of us. "From this point on, all of you will behave with the exact amount of decorum and common sense that is expected from you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Carlisle," we all said in unison.

X-X-X-X

Fortunately, Carlisle and Esme were now just as concerned as I was about Bella's safety, so instead of all of us leaving for Philadelphia, Eleazar and Edward planned to escort Alice to Alaska to spend the next few weeks there with our extended family. Carlisle wanted Bella's last few days and transformation to be drama free, and he also wanted someone who disliked Aro as much as we did to watch Alice and make sure that she didn't try to contact him again.

Carmen hated Aro with a passion for separating her from her mate and killing her sister, and she assured us that she would be on Alice's ass like stink on shit. To ensure that Alice didn't try anything while en route to Alaska, Eleazar suggested that we detach her hands until they landed in Denali. But Bella, bless her, casually suggested that they detach her right hand and then her left foot.

At her suggestion, Alice tried to attack Bella again. But because Emmett still had her held securely in his arms, the force that Alice exerted in her second attempted attack actually ripped her arms clean off her body.

So we shipped the crazy bitch off to Alaska with her arms safely secured in a black garbage bag.

_Good fuckin' riddance!_

My only job now was to sex Bella up, and keep her alive until I could kill her. Too easy, right? Well, this is Bella we're talking about.

Carlisle and Esme planned to go with us to Philadelphia for number six on Bella's list, and we would all then head to British Colombia, the day after her birthday to prepare for her transformation. I didn't know what I was more anxious about, Bella's transformation, or taking her virginity. Either way, I would be taking something precious from her.

Since it was the day before Bella's birthday, Esme, Rose and Char were giving my Bella an extra treat before doing number six on her list later. They were taking her to the spa for a little relief from all the stress and shit she had recently been through. She was going to be waxed, rubbed down and pampered. Given that they all had been changed before body hair removal was the _in_ thing, they understood how hard it was to remove vampire hair and didn't want Bella to have to go through what they had.

I remembered the agony Char went through back in the 1940's when more women started shaving their legs. She spent a good amount of money buying razors, electrolysis treatments and hair removal creams, none of which worked. And, after years of trying different methods, she finally discovered that sandpaper and a light application of vampire venom was the only thing that worked. Gross as it sounded, Peter would hock a lugie of his venom on her legs and then he and I would get to work with the electric sander.

I didn't care either way, hair or no hair, I just didn't want to be the one roped into using the sander again, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna be spitting venom on her legs or any other hairy body part.

"We need to talk about that new little item on your list," I said, nuzzling the back of Bella's neck as she stood in the mirror combing her hair out.

I liked the way her tits jutted out while she had her hands in her hair. She caught me staring at them and pushed her hips back into my rock hard dick.

"What about it?" she asked, giggling when I restrained her hips from pushing further back into my crotch.

"If we do this, then it goes against your let's-take-things-slow idea."

She turned around and hooked her hands around my neck. "I know."

I lifted her onto the bathroom counter and stood in between her spread legs. "Tell me what you're thinking."

She took a deep breath. "I want to do this, but I don't want to make a big deal about it."

"But Bells, it _is _a big deal," I argued.

"No, you don't understand."

I kissed the back of both her hands. "Then tell me. I'm listening."

"You know when you asked me how I wanted to be changed?"

I nodded. Shortly before we had left Forks, I had asked Bella how she wanted to me to bite her. Her answer was that on the day of, she just wanted to be surprised. She wanted to get up in the morning, eat breakfast, watch a little TV and then become a vampire. Simple as that.

Yeah right! Biting a human to transform them was never that easy. I had to be well fed and in control of my emotions and surroundings so as to not lose it and accidentally kill her. And then, I had to listen to my mate screaming continuously for three days while she burned from the inside out.

"Yeah, and?"

She shrugged. "I just want it to be like that. I don't want a lot of fanfare or hoopla. No soft music, or flowers, or candles. I don't want it to feel forced, I just want it to happen."

"And you want it to _just happen_ before your transformation? That's not a lot of time. We can always wait."

"I thought about that, but this is a human experience I want."

"Bella-"

She put her fingers over my mouth, smiling. "Please Jasper."

I kissed the fingers she had over my mouth. How could I deny her anything when she looked at me like that? "Okay, okay. But are you sure? I mean, you're not just doing this because you know that _I_ really want to?"

"No Jasper, _I_ want to do this."

"Hey Bells, let's go!" Char said, knocking on the open bathroom door.

"Wait a minute," I said, pulling Bella back into me. "There's a few things we still need to discuss."

"Like what?"

I wanted to talk to her about what would happen to us after the thirteen months, but I hesitated, still unsure myself. "Please be safe," I said instead, clutching my chest. It really did ache to see her go.

"We'll just be downstairs at the spa Jasper," Rose said.

I had a funny feeling, and didn't like the fact that Bella was going to be out of my sight, even if she were only going to be twenty floors below down at the spa.

I stopped her at the door. "I want you to call me if anything seems…off. Okay?"

"Jasper," Bella said, rolling her eyes.

"Bella." I gave her that 'I'm serious' look and she sighed, smiling at me before I kissed her again.

"We'll take good care of her," Esme said, ushering Bella out of the door.

**BPOV**

"So, how is this gonna work for you guys?" I asked, as I changed in my spa bikini. I was curious as to why three vampire women would want to accompany me to the spa; it wasn't like they could get massages or even facials for that matter.

"We usually do the sauna, mud bath, and get our nails painted," Char said.

"Mud bath?" I asked.

Rose nodded. "It's so warm, and it feels wonderful on our skin. You'll see."

"But really, this is more about female time," Esme said. "We're always surrounded by our men, and we never really get a chance to talk without one of them listening to every word we say."

"And, as you can see with Jasper, they don't like for us to get too far away from them," Char said. "They're always hovering; making sure that they're close enough to protect us should the wind blow too hard."

"I thought it was kinda sweet," I said, hanging my clothes in the dressing room closet.

"It is sweet, for the first couple of decades or so," Rose said plopping down on the chaise lounge to wait for the rest to finish changing. "But then sometimes it's annoying."

What could I say to that? Jasper and I didn't have decades, we had thirteen months.

"Oh no, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay Rose."

Esme draped an arm around me and kissed my forehead. "We'll find a way to give the two of you decades, honey."

I took a couple of deep breath, willing the tears to dry and not spill. "That's not possible, and I don't want anyone to get hurt tryin' to fight for me."

Char came out of the changing room wearing her spa bikini, her hair wrapped in a towel. "Who's gonna get hurt? We're mated to the two greatest vamp warriors that ever lived. I've never seen either of 'em lose a fight."

"Listen hun," Rose said. "Em and I talked about it, and we're standin' with you and Jazz, no matter what."

"That goes for Peter and I," Char said.

We moved over to the large square mud pool. The three of them threw their robes off and sunk down into the bubbling chocolate mud with sighs of pleasure. I looked at it with an upturned nose.

"C'mon Bells, it feels wonderful," Rose said.

I kicked off my flip flops and stuck a toe in. It felt warm and surprisingly smooth, so I threw my robe across the back of a lounge chair and stepped down all the way into the mud.

"And don't let Carlisle's prim and proper exterior fool you," Esme said. "He's pretty wild when you get him riled up. He can fight with the best of them."

"We've heard!" Char said, and burst into a fit of giggles.

Esme held her head up high. "My man might be over three hundred years old, but he's got the body of a twenty-three year old, and he knows how to work it!"

"Mom, I can't believe you said that!" Rose slapped a hand over her open mouth.

"Rose please, we've all heard you and Em," I said, joining in. "The first night I was in Forks, I thought there was an earthquake the house shook so much."

"Reinforced concrete beams in the basement," Esme said. "When you've got nine vampires living under the same roof, things tend to shake and break at night."

"Or all day long," Char said.

"All day?" I asked, earning looks of surprise from them.

"We don't sleep…" Esme said.

"…or get tired…" Rose added.

"…and we don't need to breathe," Char said.

"The not breathing part comes in handy all the time," Esme said, winking at me.

I felt myself blushing again.

"You'll see soon enough, honey," Rose said.

Esme moved through the mud to sit beside me. "You look worried, dear. What's wrong?"

"What if…what if I'm not…enough?" I felt the tears in my eyes and this time I let them go. "What if I zap him while we're doing it, and he doesn't want me anymore? What if I can't keep up? What if-"

"What if the moon crashes into the ocean tomorrow?" Rose said. "Honey, have you seen the way my brother looks at you? He adores you."

I shook my head. "But-"

"It's true," Char said. "I've known Jasper for a long time, and I've never seen him look at anyone or worry about anyone the way he does you."

"It's only because I'm a fragile human," I protested. "He knows that he has an obligation to fulfill for the Volturi."

"Haven't we been over this before?" Esme asked. "He knows that it's because he's got the real thing with you. And you know it too."

"But he's got so much more experienced than me," I argued.

"So what? Guys like exploring uncharted territory; teachin' their girl what they like and discoverin' what you like," Char said. "And if you're worried about his blood lust, don't. He's already fed from you, and as much as you mean to him, he's not gonna lose control with you."

"I don't know how to do…those things," I said, feeling embarrassed.

"What things?" Rose asked.

I cleared my throat, and bit down on my lip. "Umm…"

"Whatever you want to know, just ask. We're your sisters," Esme said, squeezing my hand.

I looked around at their smiling faces and took a deep breath. "Well…what about…the oral part," I mumbled.

"What specifically did you wanna know?" Char asked.

"Umm, well, how do you…umm…you know, do it?"

Esme grinned and signaled for the spa attendant. "My daughter would like a plate of fruit, bananas especially." Then turned back to me. "Time for lesson number one."

_Oh God, shoot me now!_

I could feel my entire body blushing despite the heat of the mud. I held up my hands to stop her. "No, no. It's okay. I don't need to know."

Esme wiped her hands on a towel and took the tray from the attendant. She broke a banana off of the bunch and held it up. "Now Bella, I would be remiss in my duties as matriarch of this family if I didn't explain the basics of fellatio to my youngest daughter. Rose, Char, feel free to chip in any time."

I forgot that we were sitting in a pool of mud and slapped myself in the forehead with embarrassment. "Esme, please."

She ignored me and held the banana up. "The English noun _fellatio_ comes from _fellatus_, which in Latin is the past participle of the verb _fellare_, meaning to suck. Now Bella, the tip of an erect penis is the most sensitive part of the entire organ." She tapped the tip of the banana, circling her finger around it. "Stimulation here will ensure maximum pleasure."

Rose and Char were giggling uncontrollably now.

This was worse than the time when Charlie tried to explain to me where babies came from.

"Stimulation anywhere will ensure maximum pleasure." Char laughed.

"Esme, you really don't-"

"And, don't forget the testicles," Esme continued. "When fondled in correlation with sucking-"

I take that back, this was worse than the time when Charlie tried to explain the 28 day menstrual cycle to me. He botched it up so bad that I wore a pad for a month straight until my P.E teacher explained to me that I wasn't going to bleed everyday for the rest of my life.

"Oh dear Lord Esme," Rose said, snatching the banana out of her hand and tossing it aside. "Look Bells, there's not any clear cut rules to sucking dick. If your mouth gets anywhere near his cock, he's gonna be thrilled."

"Just remember, use your hand for what doesn't fit into your mouth," Char added, grabbing the banana and demonstrating.

"And if your mouth gets tired, just hum around the tip," Esme said.

"Hum?"

As if on cue, all three of them turned and hummed at me in unison. Several women walked by, saw the banana and smirked at us.

"It vibrates, and it makes 'em cum faster," Rose explained.

"So will using your teeth," Char said.

"My teeth?"

Rose nodded. "When you hearing him purring, just use your teeth to lightly scrape upward on his shaft."

"Drives 'em wild," Esme confirmed.

"Right. So use my hands, hum around the tip, and use my teeth," I said, ticking off each point with a finger.

"And just relax about it all. Jasper isn't expecting you to do all of this right away," Rose said.

"But what about…"

"What about what, Bells?" Char asked.

I took another deep breath. "What if my tongue gets stuck? I mean, he's cold all over so wouldn't it be like licking a metal pole in the wintertime like on that Christmas movie?" I said really fast.

The three of them stared at me like I had lost my mind, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

"No dear, your tongue won't get stuck," Char said once she had stopped laughing at me.

"Try not to deep throat while you're still human," Esme said. "Carlisle is a wonderful doctor, but I don't think he could reconstruct the back of your head."

I touched the back of my head. "The back of my head?" I asked, scared.

"Deep-throating is an act in which a man's entire erect penis is inserted deep into the mouth of a partner, in such a way as to enter the receiving partner's throat. It may be difficult for some people to perform, due to the requirement of suppressing the natural gag reflex," Esme said.

"What, did you memorize the wiki definition or something?" Rose asked her mother.

Esme shrugged. "I had a feeling that this conversation would come up, and I also know how raunchy you girls get. Bella needs a balanced education, the smut with the intellect."

"How raunchy _we _get?" Char asked. "It wasn't _us_ that ripped the chandelier out of the dining room ceiling."

Esme stood up and moved to the opposite side of the mud pool, suddenly embarrassed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really, Esme? _'Oh Carlisle, right there…there…yes, yes YES!'_" Rose imitated Esme breathing hard, and then fell into a fit of giggles with Char.

"Or what about the time we came in and found you in head-to-toe naughty nurse's costume playing doctor with the good Dr. Cullen?" Char said.

"Neither one of you have room to talk," Esme said. "How many beds have you broken between the two of you? How many doors have we had to replace and walls that we had to have replastered?"

"Oh lighten up Esme," Rose said. "We've all had our fair share of naughty time. Now, it's Bella's time."

They grinned at me.

I stood up, ready to get out of the mud and move on to my massage. "Oh no, no bed breaking or wall replastering for me."

"You just wait," Char said, reached out and yanked me back into the pool.

I lost my footing and fell backwards, hitting the bottom of the pool.

"Ohmigod!" Esme screamed, giggling.

I resurfaced, spitting out mud. Rose, Char, Esme and a number of other women were laughing at me. I wiped what I could out of my eyes, realizing that I was just smearing the mud around on my face.

"Oh shut up!" I yelled at them, laughing as I shoved a handful of mud into Char's face.

And then the entire mud pool area erupted into a massive mud fight, not only between us, but with the other women as well. We ran around flinging clomps of mud at each other, even managing to toss one of the spa attendants into the mud pool.

"Suck on this!" Rose yelled, slapping a handful of mud into Esme's face.

Esme screamed out giggling, and took off running only to slip and fall in a pile of mud. Char grabbed me and tossed me back into the mud pool, then ran and did a cannon ball off the side of the regular pool, a cloud of chocolate mud floated around her.

A loud whistle and the sound of the angry security guards halted all of the fun. "Who's responsible for this?"

X-X-X-X

Carlisle laughed hysterically, and ran his long fingers through his hair. Even though he was laughing, it wasn't because he thought what we did was comical.

I decided right then that I did not like being on this side of his disappointment.

"Twenty thousand dollars! Have you lost your ever loving minds?" Carlisle yelled at us, pacing back and forth in front of us. "Did we not just have the conversation about being responsible and carrying on in a manner befitting educated vampires?"

We sat side by side on the sofa, mud caked in our hair and just about everywhere else, each of us clutching our robes closed. I fidgeted, trying to find a comfortable position; there was mud caked in places on my body that had never seen the light of day.

Esme jumped up, clutching her mud stained robe before it gapped open. "Now Carlisle, just calm down."

"Calm down? Have you seen this bill?" He demanded, waving the paper in front of us.

She promptly sat down and shut up. That was the second time that day I had seen Esme act like a submissive mate. I knew enough about Carlisle and Esme to know that even though he was the Alpha male in their relationship, she called the shots. She flashed us a smile, and we slapped our hands over our mouths to keep from giggling out loud.

Jasper, Peter and Emmett stood on the other side of the room, arms folded and looking at us like we were mental patients at a hospital and they were our assigned caretakers.

"What were you thinking?" Carlisle demanded.

"We were just having fun," I said softly.

"Fun?" Carlisle yelled, directing his attention at me. "You call this fun?" He waved the bill at me.

Jasper stepped forward and slightly pushed Carlisle backwards. "Do not _ever_ yell at my mate," he snarled.

"Jasper," I said, tugging on his arm. "Stop, it's okay."

It took a moment to get him settled down, but I finally got Jasper to sit down and stop snarling. He was just as upset with us as Carlisle was, but due to his protective nature, he wasn't going to sit by and let another man yell at me. I figured that Carlisle was like Charlie, who wouldn't let an opportunity to punish or reprimand me pass if I deserved it, and it made me feel a part of the family.

"A mud fight with three vampires and a human in the middle of the Loews Hotel in downtown Philadelphia. What were you thinking Esme?" Carlisle asked, throwing himself down into an oversized chair.

Esme took a deep breath, and sat down on her husband's lap, snuggling up next to him. "I know that it was childish and immature Carlisle, but well, it wasn't planned, and it _was_ fun." She turned and grinned at us. "We're all a little stressed, and it was just good to relax. We didn't mean to go quite so far with it."

Carlisle ran his fingers through Esme's long hair, and tightened his grip on his wife, kissing her cheek. "Do you know how much damage control its going take to keep this out of the media?"

"We're sorry dad," Rose said, kissing his other cheek and snuggling into the chair on the other side of him.

"Yeah, and we'll chip in our part to pay the bill," Char said, pushing Rose over to join in the hug huddle.

"And now I can add it to my list of things I never thought I'd get to do before I died," I said, hugging his neck from behind the chair.

"Why is it when we fuck up, you yell and curse at us, but as soon as _they_ mess up, its kisses and hugs and everything is rainbows?" Emmett asked, almost pouting.

"'Cause these are my girls," Carlisle said grinning. "And what my girls want, my girls get."

X-X-X-X

"I don't know about this Rose," I said, eyeing the denim mini skirt that she had laid out on the bed for me.

"You're the one who said that you couldn't wear the jeans," she pointed out.

Just because we had ruined our afternoon at the spa, didn't mean that I had ruined my chances at getting pampered and waxed. As soon as we had sweet talked Carlisle out of the coronary from seeing the bill from the mud damage, Rose ordered room service mani/pedi's for the vamps, and a massage therapist and an esthetician for me. Rose, Char and Esme recommended the thorough wax service, and after describing their own plights at hair removal, I readily agreed.

But now, after being on the receiving end of a thorough _Brazilian_ wax special, I wished I had just taken my chances with the electric sander.

My cooter was literally on fire, and every move I made was uncomfortable. The esthetician said that the pain would subside in a few hours, just as long as I kept the area ventilated and liberally applied the hydrocortisone cream to soothe the irritation. I was waiting for Char and Rose to get the hell out of our suite before reapplying the cream though. It was enough that I already had one strange person looking at my girly parts, I didn't need two more.

"So did you get a pattern?" Char asked.

"A pattern?" I asked. I lay back on the bed, legs spread and up against the headboard. I had my robe on for decency sake, covering the main body parts, but underneath I was naked as the day I was born. At this point, it didn't really even matter who was in my room, my vajay-jay needed to breathe.

"Yeah you know, you can get the esthetician to cut patterns into the landing strip," Rose said. "At least that's what I read in Cosmo."

I looked at her from my upside down position. "I think that getting the hair ripped out of my coot with hot wax was enough. There is no way I'm vajazzling my vajay-jay."

Char shrugged. "I've got some of those self sticking rhinestones if you ever wanna jazz it up for your Jazzy."

"The way I feel right now, he won't be touching anything below the navel for quite some time."

"Well, since you can't wear the jeans, are you wearing the skirt then?" Rose asked, holding it up.

"Are you kidding me? Jasper would have a heart attack if he saw me in that."

"Even more of a reason to wear it," Char said winking.

"Wait one red hot second Miss Thang," Rose said. "Just a couple of days ago you were your own woman, willing to defy Jasper at every turn. Now, not even forty-eight hours later, you're worried about him flipping out on your outfit."

I shrugged. "What can I say, I'm an old mated woman now. Besides, it's just easier to wear something modest than to listen to him yammerin' about guys lookin' at me all night."

"Honey, if you wore a paper bag over your face he would still swear that someone was lookin' at you wrong," Char said. "It's just who he is."

"Alright you two, get out!" Jasper ordered, coming into the room.

"What, you can't throw us out!" Rose said.

"Yes I can, and I am. You two have been monopolizing my Bella's time all day. Now get out."

_My Bella. I loved it when he called me that!_

"We have to help her get ready to go," Char protested.

"She's a grown woman, and she can dress herself. Now get out!" he said, holding the door open for them.

I rolled over onto my side, stuffing a pillow between my legs to keep them from rubbing together. Jasper slammed, and then locked the door behind Char, making sure to keep them out.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, watching him saunter over to me.

"Yes," he said, leaning over to kiss me. "Between you attacking vampires, mud fights and waxing shit, I haven't seen you all day."

He pouted like a little boy, and I couldn't help but to pull him down to my level and kiss him again.

"Are you sayin' that you missed me?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Yes, and I don't like it when you put me second."

Pouty Jasper was sexy!

I felt his hands on the belt of my robe, and before I could stop him he had one hand inside, running his fingers up and down my side.

I moaned, arching into his caresses. "I haven't put you second."

He rolled me over onto my back, and ran his lips down the V of my robe. Strangely, I almost didn't care that I was nearly naked in front of him, and in fact, the little gate keeping voice that kept my legs closed tighter than Fort Knox was starting to malfunction. Every time he touched me, the voice that yelled at me that we were moving too fast got smaller and smaller.

"You smell like mangos and pomegranate," he said, kissing the valley between my breasts.

_A little to the left please,_ my inner sex diva scream at Jasper. _Or the right, either breast will do!_

"It's the massage oil," I explained, panting.

"Let's get one thing straight Isabella," Jasper said, his tongue slowly working its way toward my left nipple. "I'm a jealous bastard, and I don't like it when I'm left out." He clamped his lip covered teeth down on my nipple, and then twirled his tongue around it. "Do we have an understanding?"

When I didn't immediately answer him, his fingers found my right nipple, and as he bit down on one, he pinched the other.

_Stand back, the gates are opening! _I could feel my legs parting like the Red Sea. I had never felt pleasure like that before, and it rendered me speechless.

"You didn't answer me Isabella."

"Yes, YES!"

He laughed, but continued licking and sucking my nipples. "You taste so good baby."

One of his hands started south, but I stopped him before he hit the land of milk and honey. My gate keeping conscious woke up and started poking me with her ruler again. "Jasper," I panted, trying to catch my breath from the way he was still pinching and rolling my nipples. "We can't."

"Why not?" he asked, licking my belly button now. I tried squirming away from him, but he held me still. "Tell me why we can't Isabella."

I swallowed, and tried to regulate my breathing. "I umm…I got waxed…down there," I said. It was the truth, but it was more of a stall tactic. I didn't want him poking around my parts while the skin was red and irritated.

His head popped up and he grinned at me.

_Was that venom running down his chin?_

"Oh really?" he asked excitedly, wiping his chin with the back of his hand.

I grabbed both of his hands as he attempted to pull my robe all the way open. So yeah, I needed a better stall tactic. "Jasper, I'm…"

He flipped his wrists and pinned my arms to the mattress above my head with one of his hands. "You're what Isabella?"

"Imma little sore down there; the skin is slightly irritated," I said, embarrassed.

He nuzzled my throat and ran his hand down my body. "Aw baby, let daddy take a looksee and make you feel better."

"No Jasper, I-"

He winked at me. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

He released my hands, and before I could stop him, his face was between my legs.

"Holy shit! That's the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life!" he shouted.

And, then I felt him lick me.

_Dear sweet baby Jesus lying in a manger, forgive me for being a little whore, but that felt amazing! And please, let him continue. Amen._

"Ohmigod Ja-"

I couldn't speak; I was too overwhelmed. There were no words.

He spread me open, and speared me with his tongue.

"Spread your legs baby," he murmured against the folds of my pink pussy. "I wanna get further in."

_Further in? _

How the fuck did I not ever notice how long his tongue was? Was he licking my uterus now? My back arched off the mattress and I dug my fingers into his scalp, yanking on his hair.

My gatekeeper was shaking her head 'no' at me and tapping her foot impatiently, waiting on me to push him away.

And then I felt his fingers just inside of me.

Hot damn that felt good! My vajay-jay sucker punched my gatekeeper and held her down, putting a hand over her mouth to keep her from yelling at me.

"This is the clitoris Bella," he said, working his fingers back and forth over it. "And, it's my favorite part." He alternated, using his fingers and then his tongue. "I love how pink, and wet you are. I can't wait to get all the way inside of you Isabella."

I felt the sensation building from deep in my stomach, a tight clenching feeling. The first and only other time I felt like this was under the tree after he had fed from me. If it felt this good from just his fingers and his tongue, how the hell would I handle his cock?

"Let go, baby," he whispered.

I felt his tongue kick into vampire speed overdrive, and he sent me over the edge, screaming out his name. But he didn't stop licking, and fingering me. I felt my orgasm building again, and with the way my back was arching off the mattress, I was sure that I looked like some sort of wild, bucking bull as the sensation ripped through me.

When I finally stopped moaning and bucking, I felt him lick my entire pussy, inside and out, and then he settled on the bed behind me, spooning me.

I rubbed my legs together, and didn't feel any irritation.

It took a few minutes to stabilize my breathing. "How the hell did you do that?" I asked, after my heart stopped racing.

His hand slipped under my robe, and he cupped one breast, his thumb circling my nipple. "I sealed off the irritation with a tiny bit of venom."

"Venom?" I asked, and reached down to inspect my goods. He was right, the irritation was gone, and my skin was still soft and warm. "How is that possible?"

"It takes a lot of venom to change a human into a vampire. Carlisle's being doing experiments with our venom and human tissue, and in small doses, mixed with something soluble like saliva, it has healing properties. I can regulate the amount that I secrete as long as I'm well fed, and focused."

I rolled over on top of him and straddled his hips, tilting his head back. "Lemme see."

"See what?"

"I wanna see where the venom comes out."

He shifted, and taking my hand, placed it on the bulge in his pants. "Venom comes outta here too." He grinned, flashing me a dazzling smile.

"Jasper!"

He sighed. "Only you could turn a fuckin' session into a science lesson." He cupped my ass with his hands and rubbed me over his denim clad dick. "Don't you wanna really do it or somethin' instead?"

"Not here. Now let me see," I said, poking his chest.

He captured my hands in his own. "Quit, that tickles."

"Then let me see."

"How can you just diss my dick like that?" he whined.

Diss his dick? I was literally ready to jump him, and the only reason I hadn't yet was because the gate keeper was now back on duty and holding up a copy of Emily Post's _Etiquette Rules of Sexing_ in her hands. I had already broken rules one through five, and was now working on breaking the last one.

"We aren't quite ready for that yet."

"Uh, well, I am." He pushed his hips up into me.

"Jasper!" I yelled again, slapping his chest.

"Fine."

He pouted but tilted his head back and pointed out the tiny secretion holes on the underside of his teeth anyway. I knew better than to touch his razor sharp teeth, but as I reached for his chin to turn his head toward the light for a better view, he snapped at my fingers with his teeth and then snarled at me. I screamed and rolled, falling off of the bed.

"Ohmigod! That…was so…fuckin' funny!" Jasper laughed. "You should have seen your face!"

"Jerk!" I threw a pillow at him. "That was not funny at all!"

"Yes it was!" He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me back down on to the bed when I tried to stomp away. "I'm sorry baby, but I couldn't resist!"

"Bella!" Rose shouted, beating on the door. "We've got one hour to get ready. Either let us in now, or let us in NOW!"

"Go away!" Jasper yelled. "We're just about to do it!"

"We are not!" I shouted, laughing and pushed him away.

He willingly let me go, but I gave him a few seconds for him to adjust himself around in his pants before going to the door.

"You know, this is your fault," he playfully accused.

"I'll take the blame for that any day," I said, as I opened the door to let them in. "Just ignore him Rose."

"I don't know what you did to my brother Bella, but keep doin' it. 'Cause we all love the new and improved Jasper."

"Yeah, I think I love him too," I said, and then slapped my hand over my mouth.

Wait a minute!

_Love?_

_

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_**A/N: Leave me some good lovin'!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

*****Remember, this fic is rated M-meaning mature readers only. If you are under 18, you are not considered mature enough to be reading this. Normally, I'm all for breaking the rules and being a rebel, but not this time. Please don't get me in trouble!*****

**Wonderful betas JamesRamsey and Cullen818-thanks chicas!**

**SM owns it.**

**I'm not so sure about this chapter. It's kinda a filler, but it's important because it sets up what's gonna happen next. Please don't send me hate mail, but please do review. Your reviews make it easier to write, especially through the hard chapters.**

**Going to hide out now...**

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**BPOV**

"What did you say?" Char asked, with her eyes shining and big ass grin plastered on her face.

"Nothin'," I mumbled with my hand still over my mouth.

"Get out!" Jasper shouted.

"Wait a minute, you can't throw us out _again_!" Rose protested.

Jasper didn't say anything, just lightly shoved his sisters out of the room. "Bella."

"Jasper, I-I…"

"Shh, don't say anything, just let me feel you," he said, pulling me close.

He held me for a few minutes, neither of us speaking.

I honestly didn't mean to say that I loved him, not because I did or didn't, but because I was so unsure about everything.

"Okay, listen to me," Jasper said, pulling back a little. "I'm getting a lot of mixed up emotions coming from you, and that's because half of 'em are probably coming from me. We've already said that we like each other, a lot, and we know that we want to be together. So let's not let little words cause anxiety between us. I know how you feel, and I'm telling you that I feel the same way. When we're completely ready to say the words, they'll come. Okay?"

What he said made perfect sense to me. We needed a little more time with each other before we went declaring our undying love for one another, and as long as both of us knew that it was there, right at the surface, then that's all either of us needed. For the moment that is.

"Okay," I said, smiling. I stood on my toes to kiss him.

"Let us back in!" Char shouted, banging on the door.

"And don't worry about a thing. I'm gonna find a way to make this permanent," he whispered in my ear.

"Jasper-"

"Not another word, and no worries baby," he grinned. "We'll talk about it later."

X-X-X-X

Kungfu Necktie in Philadelphia was a small cheeky bar located on Front and Thompson, it was strategically placed between the major bars in the area, and served as the perfect backdrop for number six on my list. When I wrote number six on my list I had never expected any of this to really happen.

One of my favorite bands, 100 Monkeys, was having a jam session at the bar and Rose had arranged for me to sing with them. Because of some weird six degrees of separation thing, Rose knew someone, who knew someone, who owed a favor to someone else, and well, it ended up with me being invited to sing a few songs and hang out with the band for the night.

I had no musical talent at all, and couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle on it, but that was not going to stop me from singing my heart out while standing on stage next to Jackson Rathbone.

I fidgeted with the skirt I was wearing, and for the hundredth time, Rose slapped my hands away from it trying to pull it down. I knew that I had sufficiently succeeded in pissing Jasper off by wearing it. We had yelled and screamed at each other for twenty minutes after I had put it on, and with the cold looks he kept throwing at me, not to mention the arm he kept around my waist, I would be lucky if he didn't follow me up on stage to act as my bodyguard.

"You look fabulous, so stop trying to tug it down," Rose whispered to me.

I knew that I looked fabulous, how could I not with half of my ass hanging out?

"I think my right ass cheek just popped out the back," I protested, turning to look.

Char slapped said ass cheek. "Nah, it's still covered."

"I can't believe he let you out of the hotel lookin' like that," Peter said. "Don't get me wrong, you look sexy as hell, especially with those boots on, but…"

"He's tryin' to prove a point," Em said.

"What?" I asked.

"You're now uncomfortable because he's uncomfortable. And he only feels that way because he can feel the lust directed at you from every male that takes a second look at you. It wasn't that he was so much trying to control you, but alleviate a major headache for himself," Em explained.

I looked over to the bar where Jasper was getting my drink. He looked miserable, but smiled at me anyway when he heard what Em said and caught me staring at him. "Well why didn't he just say that in the first place?" I asked. I was angry now that I realized what Emmett said was true.

How could Emmett, this big hunk of a man, act so much like a child, and then turn right around and be so insightful?

Emmett shrugged. "Some lessons are better learned the hard way." He turned to Rose and pulled her to him. "C'mon baby, let's dance."

"Besides, it's always that way with newly mated couples. He'll learn to lighten up and block out the lust, but you two gotta learn to communicate better." Peter said, and pulled Char away.

"What Peter said was right," Esme said. "But what it really boils down to is this, Jasper's a typical man, and it's our jobs as their women to think for them. He knows he should tell you _why_ something makes him feel the way it does, but he's not going to because then he feels like he looks weak."

"But that's crazy!"

"Honey, that's a man for ya!" Esme said, laughing as she went off to dance with Carlisle.

Jasper approached me, and handed me my drink. He put his arm back around me, hooking his thumb in the waist band of my skirt.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at him.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "It's not _all_ your fault, but Peter's right, I guess I could lighten up a little."

"And I promise to communicate better," I said. _And to interpret your emotions, the things you say, the things you don't say, and always stay ten steps ahead of you_, I thought and mentally rolled my eyes. But, I didn't mind doing all of those things if it made us stronger together.

"Hey Bells, it's time. Let's go!" Rose said, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from Jasper.

"Have fun baby!" Jasper called out to me.

I didn't know what to expect as I took my place in between the back-up singers on stage. I was so nervous that I was sure my vamp family could hear my knees knocking together. Jasper's smile caught my eye, and then I felt a calming wave of peace flow over me. I cocked an eyebrow back at my vamp man and he shrugged, asking me if it was okay for him to help me out with my nervousness. I held up my fingers, indicating for him to give me just a tiny amount of courage, and he nodded, adjusting the flow of his mojo.

The entire stage crew was introduced, and when it came to me, an announcement was made about my birthday and that the Cullen/Whitlock family was now complete with me being apart of their family. I was so happy I wanted to cry.

The first three songs we did were "Wings on Fire", "Looker", and "Orson Brawl". I sung my heart out, and tired not to throw everyone else out of tune.

I grinned so much my face hurt, and when the band broke for break, I rushed off stage to find my family.

"You were great Bella!" Esme said, hugging me.

"That was amazing sweetheart!" Carlisle said and kissed my cheek. He pressed a small box in my hands. "This is from Esme and I."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well open it, duh!" Esme said, laughing.

I tore the paper off the box to find a velvet, rectangular shaped jewelry box inside. Inside was a platinum charm bracelet with Cullen and Whitlock family crest charms attached.

"Oh my God! It's so pretty." I threw my arms around Esme and Carlisle, hugging them both at the same time.

"Now you're officially one of us," Esme said, wiping the tears off my cheeks.

"The Whitlock charm is from us," Peter said.

I hugged them both. "I love you guys. And thank you, thank you Rose for arranging this!" I hugged her hard. "This is the best birthday ever!"

"Happy Birthday honey," she said hugging me back, then passing me to Emmett for one of his massive bear hugs.

"Jasper and I've got another surprise for you Bells, but you don't get it until we get to Canada."

"Ah Em, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but it's more of Jasper's idea than mine. I just helped him with it."

Jasper was standing against the wall across the way from us, smiling shyly with his hair hanging in his eyes and looking like a real live Marlboro man. He ran his fingers through his hair before setting my beer down on the table and then slowly sauntering over to me.

He looked delicious, and I wanted to lick him like ice cream. The gate keeper poked me with her damn ruler, reminding me to keep my panties on and my legs closed when we got back to the hotel. My sex diva snatched the ruler out of her hand, snapped it into two pieces, and then threw it on the ground.

"Hi."

"Hi." He laced his fingers through mine, folded my arm behind my back and pulled me close, kissing me. "You were wonderful up there."

"Thanks," I murmured when I remember how to actually speak.

"I have something for you."

"What?"

He unlaced his fingers from mine and held up my wrist. "This is the first gift."

With quick work of his fingers, he attached something to my bracelet and then kissed the inside of my wrist. It was a heart shaped chocolate diamond.

"Jasper!"

"I hope you like it," he whispered before kissing me.

His mouth settled over mine, his tongue tracing my bottom lip as if he were asking permission. Didn't he know by now that he never had to ask permission to kiss me?

He groaned, and pulled me impossibly closer, his erection trapped between us.

When he pulled back his sweet breath washed across my face, and I felt that wonderfully confused sensation that I always got when he kissed me.

"I want you," I blurted out.

He grinned, kissing the tip of my nose. "Good to see you're tryin' out that communication thing."

"You know that thing you did earlier?" I whispered.

"What thing?" he asked.

I knew that he knew what I was talking about, because he shoved both of his hands in the back pockets of my denim skirt and pulled me into him. I could feel more of his erection now, and he was nipping at my earlobe while grinding against me.

"You know, the thing with your tongue," I panted, when I felt his tongue now tracing the outside of my ear.

"You mean, when I helped you out with that little ache you had?"

He was licking my neck now, and I was grinding right back into him. "Umm, let's get out of here."

"What? No, you can't go yet," Rose said, running up to us. "We've still got two more songs!"

"Damn it Rose!" I said. I started to really protest, but Jasper cut me off.

"Go ahead baby, it's not every day that you get to sing on stage with your favorite band. And, my tongue's not goin' anywhere," he added when I whimpered.

"One more kiss for luck?" I asked.

"No, no no! We're all singing this one, let's go!" Rose said pulling me away. "If you kiss him again I'll never get you on stage."

Char was already on stage adjusting her microphone. "I think he looks a lot like Jasper," she whispered, nodding to Jackson.

"I was just thinking the same thing!" Rose said.

"Nah, my vamp man is sexier," I said, waving to Jasper over the crowd.

The band played "Ugly Girl" and "Arizona", and once Char, Rose and I got our giggling under control, we actually sounded pretty good. Well, they sounded pretty good, and were able to drown out most of my pitch problems.

Afterwards, we all hung out with the band, drinking—that is, I drank, and the Cullen's and Whitlock's pretended to drink—and chatting about their tour and new album.

"Hey, are you ready to get out of here?" Jasper asked, running his hand up and down my thigh.

I stopped his hand before it slipped under the hem of my skirt. "Lemme go to the restroom first." I finished the beer I had been drinking, and wiggled off Jasper's lap, making sure to move directly over his rock hard erection.

He groaned. "You're gonna pay for that."

"I can't wait." I winked at him and went to off the find the restroom.

The ladies restroom door was labeled _boobs_, and of course the men's was labeled _balls_. I quickly took care of my needs, but because of the crowd it took a few minutes longer to fight my way through the mass of people gathered around the stage and pool table areas.

"Excuse me miss!"

I felt someone from behind me tap my shoulder, and when I turned around I knew that I was in trouble.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to back away from him.

His gloved covered hand clamped down on my wrist. "Pay back's a bitch, ain't it?" Brian said, before dragging me through the crowd and out the back door.

X-X-X-X

"Let me go!" I struggled in the hold he had me in. I had been kicking and screaming since he grabbed me, but once the band started playing again, the music was too loud and everyone's focus was on the stage. "What do you want from me?"

He shoved me out into the alley through the back door where three of his friends were waiting. They were all dressed in black; black jeans, black turtle neck sweaters and black gloves. _Gloves?_ Why the hell were they wearing gloves?

I knew that whatever it was they were planning was not going to be good. I also knew that I needed to focus and keep my shield down. Jasper and the others probably didn't even hear me screaming because of my damn shield!

"What we want comes later. Right now, someone else wants to speak to you first."

"Who?"

"Bring her," Edward said, stepping out of the shadows. He turned and disappeared further down the alley way.

_Oh shit!_

Well, that explained the gloves. Edward knew that if they touched my skin, then I could zap them. How long had he been planning this, and why the hell was he here instead of in Alaska where he was supposed to be?

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

As soon as one of Brian's friends grabbed my arm, I turned and kicked him right in the nuts with the toe of my cowboy boots. He hit the ground, groaning and holding his crotch.

Brian spun me around and slapped me hard across my face. I fell, hitting and scrapping my knee on the dirty street and cutting my hand on broken glass. He wrapped his hand in my hair and yanked me to my feet. He slapped me again, but held me upright by my hair.

"Man, she's a feisty one!" another one of them said, grabbing my other arm.

"Let me go, let me go!"

"Make sure to clean up that blood!" Brian shouted to one of his friends. "And use the bleach!"

I struggled with them as they drug me down the alley and through the back door of a neighboring building. It was a small room that looked like an abandoned stock room of a store.

I kicked out at one of the guys, but he punched me in the stomach. Brian released the hold he had on my hair, and I fell to the floor, holding my stomach.

"Can't you get her under control?" Edward demanded.

"Sorry sir, we weren't expecting her to fight back like this," Brian said.

I vomited all over myself. "Why are you doin' this to me?" I asked in a weak voice, clutching my stomach.

Edward knelt in front of me, reached out and pushed the hair out of my face with a glove covered finger. "Because my dear sweet Bella, no one turns me down and gets away with it." He laughed. "And, since Alice thought that you deserved a special birthday treat, I've arranged for my guys here to give it to you, once I'm through with you of course."

"How can you do this to Jasper, he's your brother?"

"Jasper is a fucking moron, and I'm tired of living in his shadow!"

I spit the bile tasting saliva out. "You're jealous?" I asked, pushing myself up to a sitting position.

He barked out a loud laugh. "Hardly!" He stood up and walked away from me. "Jasper has had everything just handed to him. Alice should have been my mate and wife, not his! And what does he do, he just throws her away at the drop of a hat."

"What the hell are you talking about Edward?"

"Oh, I forgot. You probably heard Jasper's side of the story. The one where he meets Alice in the diner, right here in good 'ol Philly back in '38, and they just knew they were meant for each other? Well, what he and the rest of the family doesn't know is that Alice and I had a thing going before she met your lover boy."

"But if she chose him, why do you hate Jasper? He obviously didn't even know about you."

"It's complicated."

I pushed myself up on one elbow and scooted across the floor to lean against the wall. "Then explain it to me."

He seemed to think about it for a minute before speaking. "The short version of the story is that even before she actually met him, Alice had heard about Jasper and how he led the Southern Wars with Maria. And then one day she saw Jasper in one of her visions. He was standing in front of a group of people-vampires-and they were pledging their loyalty to him and his mate, who she couldn't see. Simply put, she wanted to be the one ruling beside him, with him. So she convinced him that they were meant to be together. Her plan was to help him secure his spot as ruler, and then _we_ were going to kill him. When he divorced her, that threw a major monkey wrench into her plan, but when you came along, her vision changed entirely, and she realized that she had to get rid of you."

"Why?"

"Because you are the one in her vision standing next to him."

I took a deep breath and winced at the pain, trying to absorb what he was saying. "So, is that what you're gonna do, get rid of me for her?"

He walked over to me and knelt down again. "No, that's what they are going to do," he said, pointing to Brain and his friends.

"What's in it for them?"

"I've agreed to change them," he said casually and with a shrug.

"But you-"

"You can only zap me if you come in contact with my skin, right?" He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a box of condoms. "He had his fun time with my rightful mate, and now I'm gonna have my time with his."

When I was ten years old Jake took me out onto the back porch of his father's house and taught me how to spit with deadly accuracy. We practiced for hours until I could hock and spit directly into the mouth of an open Coke can. I held the Rez record at five feet.

Knowing how peculiar Edward was about his clothes, I turned and spit a glob of blood out, hitting him in the crotch of his hard creased pants.

I knew that I couldn't fight Edward off, but that didn't mean that I couldn't show him my distaste for everything that he had just told me.

"What the fuck?" he yelled.

I suspected that what he had planned to do to me, he wasn't quite ready to do it, because he signaled to Brian and his friends reprimand me for the insult. If Edward had hit me himself, I would be dead the moment he touched me.

I didn't know how long I could struggle and fight them off this time, simply because I had next to nothing left in me to struggle with.

**JPOV**

Something was wrong.

While I know how girls like to primp in the mirror, reapplying make up and fixing their hair and shit, Bella was not like that, and she had been gone for too long.

"Rose, can you go check out the ladies room, see what's keeping her so long."

"Chillax Jazzy," Rose said. "I know that you haven't gotten laid in like six months, but give the girl time to fix herself up for you."

Maybe she was right; maybe I was overreacting.

_But, what if I wasn't? _

I walked away from my family and the crowd to the front of the bar. There were too many people, too many voices, and too many emotions swirling around. It was starting to wear my nerves thin, and I needed just a moment to get my shit straight.

I closed my eyes and tried to block everything out but Bella's emotional wave length. I could feel her all the way up until she disappeared inside of the ladies room, and then her shield popped up.

_Just because her shield is up, doesn't mean that she's in trouble_, I kept reminding myself.

It was her usual habit to pop up her shield while she was taking care of human things. She had said that it was something about my ability to hear her pee that made her nervous and unable to perform. I chuckled a little to myself thinking about it.

_But she should have been back out here by now_, I thought.

I was still emotionally searching for her when I smelled it.

_Bleach! _

_And, a tiny hint of Bella's blood!_

Carlisle must have smelled it at the exact same time that I did, because he jumped to his feet, tossing his phone at Esme. "Carmen just found parts of Eleazar in the woods by her house. Edward and Alice are missing."

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**A/N: ***Still hiding out*****

**I'm a little stuck on the next chapter, and thinking of rewriting it. So hit the review button please and tell me what you're thinking!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta girls-JamesRamsey and Cullen818!**

**Some of you have asked why I choose to write mostly in Jasper's POV. The only answer I have for that is that he talks to me and is more expressive than Bella. In RL I work with all men, so it's easier to write from their POV after listenin' to them yammer on all day!**

**This has a bit of violence in it. Our sexy Major comes out to play. But Bella is going to be okay.**

**SM owns it.**

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****JPOV**

My brother's scent, coupled with the smell of Bella's blood triggered my demon to come out.

This was not going to be good.

If I could smell him now, I knew that he could smell me as well, and I faintly wondered if he would try to run, or stay and fight me like a man. It didn't matter. This time there was nothing Carlisle could do to stop me from killing Edward.

I heard Carlisle say something about not causing a public scene, but when I saw the human boy holding the bleach bottle, and trying to clean a dank, dark smelly alleyway, all reasoning went out the window.

"Where is she?" I asked the boy.

He inhaled sharply as if he were preparing to yell, but he never made a sound because I ripped his throat out with my bare hands and tossed his carcass away from me. The smell of his blood didn't even entice me. I had one single focus; I had to find my mate.

"Jasper!" Carlisle yelled.

"Her blood was on his shirt," Peter explained.

My demon had no morals, and to him it was simple, any one that stood in the way of me finding my mate would die. The only question now was, who would be next?

It was the boy standing guard at the door in back of the alley. I snapped his neck just as I heard my mate screaming. The snapping, twisting and crunching sound of his bones fueled my demon, and I threw my head back, roaring into the night like a wolf baying at the moon.

I heard the sound of a door opening somewhere above me, and then the pounding of running footsteps. Again, I was assailed by the scent of my brother.

"Lieutenant!" I shouted, pointing to the rooftop terrace. "Get him and bring him to me."

I turned and ripped the metal door off of its hinges, tossing it aside.

Brian was crouched over my mate, one hand around her throat, and the other working its way up her skirt. She had been trying to fight him; his face was scratched and his bottom lip was bloody. I could also see that he had hurt her. My mate's clothes were ripped, her face was bloody, bruised and swollen, and now that her shield was down, I could feel her fear and pain.

"Jasper!" Emmett yelled. "We'll need him for information."

Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my mind, what Emmett said made sense. So I spared the boy's life for now.

I yanked him off of my mate and threw him into a wall, effectively knocking him unconscious.

"Jasper," my mate cried out, reaching for me.

In the distance, I could hear my Lieutenant and my so-called brother fighting each other, snarling and growling at each other, and the demon within me was torn between going to my mate to offer her my solace, or running to aide in the fight. I wanted to hold my brother's head in my hands and watch him scream in agony as I separated it from his body.

"Please," she whispered.

I had no other option; I knew what I had to do.

I took just a few seconds to reconfigure my thinking. I needed to get my body in sync with my mind so that my demon didn't accidentally harm or crush my human mate.

"Bella," I said softly, kneeling to pick her up. "Baby…"

"Jasper, you shouldn't move her just yet," Carlisle warned, stepping in front of me. "Let me examine—"

Carlisle should have known to not try to get in between me and my mate. His intentions were good, but to my demon he was a threat. Before I consciously knew what happened, Emmett was helping Carlisle up off the floor. The wall that I had thrown him through was apparently a load bearing wall, because the floor above us creaked and groaned with the loss of support.

I crouched low over my mate, protecting her from harm and snarling at my adoptive father and brother. Emmett and Carlisle backed away, hands held up to show that they meant no harm to us.

My mate wrapped her arms around my neck as I lifted her. "Jasper, I need you."

I kissed her forehead, probably the only part of her face that wasn't bruised or swollen, and held her close without crushing her. "Shh, I'm here. No one will hurt you again."

I saw Char running toward us, but she slowed down when she saw Carlisle and Emmett quietly backing away from us.

"Major," she said, taking a cautious step forward. "Esme is waiting at the hotel—"

"No."

"No?" she asked.

"We're getting the hell out of here. Call the airport and tell them to get the plane ready."

"But-"

"And tell the Lieutenant to secure the prisoner. We'll be taking them with us for questioning and sentencing, and I'll deal with my _brother_ when we get home."

"But Major, Bella needs medical attention and we need to-"

My patience was wearing thin; I did not like for my orders to be questioned. I stopped before reaching the door of the room and spun around to face her.

"Silence!" I yelled. Char immediately stopped talking, and I could feel her fear of disappointing her superior. It had been a long, long time since anyone had felt like that toward me, and I didn't know if it excited me, or scared me. "I gave you a direct order Officer, and I expect all orders to be carried out immediately and without question. Do you understand?" Bella shifted uncomfortably in my arms, but thankfully didn't publicly reprimand me for barking at her sister.

"Yes sir, Major sir!"

"One hour. Make it happen."

"Yes sir!" she turned, grabbed the boy that I had thrown into the wall and disappeared down the alleyway with him.

I turned sideways to get Bella through the door. I could see our black SUV backed into the mouth of the alley and Rose was loading the remains of the other two boys in the back. I felt no remorse in being the one to end their lives. "Carlisle, what supplies do you need?"

He cleared his throat before speaking. "My medical bag is back at the hotel. I'll call Esme and tell her to pack our things and head for the airport."

I nodded, agreeing with his plan. "Emmett, -"

"One step ahead of you brother," Emmett said. "Rosie and I will take care of them, and then we'll meet you at the airport."

I sat in the back of Carlisle's rented Mercedes while he drove, cradling Bella in my arms. She was softly crying against my chest with her bloody hand fisted in my shirt. I could feel her shivering with the temperature of my body, but I had nothing to wrap around her, and she refused to let me go.

"Tell me…tell me what happened, please," I asked, stroking her hair back from her face.

She didn't speak for so long that I thought that she hadn't heard me. "Not yet, not here," she murmured.

"Bella honey, how does your abdomen feel?" Carlisle asked, pulling into the parking lot of the airport.

"It…it hurts," she gasped.

Her pain stabbed me in the heart. And it took me a second to control my anger over her being hurt. She didn't need to be burdened with how I was feeling on top of her pain.

A cab pulled up beside our parked car, and Esme hopped out, Carlisle's medical bag in her hands.

"Jasper, be very careful moving her. Her ribs may be broken, and we don't want one to puncture her lungs."Carlisle instructed as I moved out of the car with her in my arms.

"How is she?" Esme asked.

"Mom?" Bella asked in a small voice, reaching for Esme.

"I'm right here honey." Esme leaned over and kissed Bella's forehead. "We need to get her inside, she's freezing."

There was a tiny double bed in the back of the airplane, and I gently placed my Bella down on the mattress. She hissed in pain, holding her side.

"Please don't go," she begged.

"I'm right here baby, and I'm not going anywhere." I pulled a blanket over her legs, trying to not look at the bruises on her inner thighs or the ones that disappeared under the hem of her skirt.

Carlisle moved around the bed, checking her pulse, listening to her heartbeat and then her abdomen, tapping on her stomach with his fingers.

"Does this hurt?" he asked, pressing his palm on her side.

Bella gasped for air. "Yes, yes!"

"I don't think any of your ribs are broken, just badly bruised. You'll need stitches for your hand, and do you remember when you last had a tetanus shot?"

"A couple of years ago."

He nodded. "I'll give you another for good measure, but I'll need my other bag." Carlisle turned to go, but hesitated in the doorway. "Bella, did he hurt you…somewhere else that I need to know about?"

I had been trying to formulate how to ask that very thing, and was glad that Carlisle had asked from a medical standpoint.

Bella shook her head. "No, you got there in time," she said, squeezing my hand and looking at me.

"Thank God," I whispered before kissing her softly, careful not to hurt her swollen lip.

**X-X-X-X-X**

"You lost him?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing. I was seething inside, and my palms were literally itching with the need to rip my so called brother apart. "How is that possible?"

"Major, you know that fucker is fast. I almost had him trapped when he tossed me off of that roof. By the time I caught up with his scent again, the trail went cold about a mile north of the city."

"You disappoint me," I stated, turning my back on him. "I asked you to do one thing for me, _one thing_, and you couldn't even do that!"

My Lieutenant hung his head, and I could feel his shame. He pulled something out of his pocket and laid it on the table.

Three of Edward's fingers lie twitching on the table.

"A hundred and forty seven years ago I pledged my loyalty to you, to serve you, to stand beside you and to guard your back. In all of that time I have never failed you. And, I promise not to fail you this time." He turned toward the door of the plane. "I promise you that I will bring his head back to you."

Char gasped. "Peter!"

Esme and Rose held each other, quietly dry sobbing.

My Lieutenant kissed his mate. "Stay here my love, duty calls."

As much as I wanted Edward Cullen's head on a stake, I wasn't willing to risk my real brother's life in order to get it. We were five minutes from take off, and strategically speaking, I needed my Lieutenant with me for Bella's transformation and initial training. Edward didn't have a military mind, but he knew where we were headed, and if he was going to seek us out, then I wanted my mate and the rest of my family prepared for what we might face when he came. I couldn't do it alone.

"No, I need you here."

"Sir?"

"Redeem yourself by helping me prepare the others, by helping me train my mate."

"Jasper, we'll need to postpone Bella's change, just for a little while until more of her injuries are healed." Carlisle said.

"What?" I demanded. "You said that her injuries were minimal."

He nodded. "Considering that she was attacked by four men, her injuries are minimal, but the human body and mind is extremely fragile compared with a vampire body. I just want to make sure that she heals emotionally from what happened to her."

I knew that what he was saying was correct. I had seen her injuries; her swollen lip, black eye, the fist sized bruise on her stomach and abdomen, and it was a wonder that her ribs weren't broken. But, it was too soon to gauge how her attacked had affected her mentally.

"He's right Jazz, she needs to deal with the attack first," Rose said. "Sometimes I wish I had more time to adjust."

I looked at my sister, and after hearing the ordeal that she went through, and then seeing for myself her ongoing battle in dealing with the emotions associated with her own attack, I knew that waiting a few days was a small price to pay to have a healthy mate. "How long?"

"Just give her a couple of days. Don't push her to talk about it, but let her know that if she needs to, she can." He laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You'll feel when she's ready."

"He's going to need help," Emmett said suddenly. "There's no way that Edward or Alice would follow us to the cabin now. They know that just the two of them wouldn't stand a chance against us."

"So they're going to the Volturi first?" Rose asked. "Is that why Alice was calling Aro?"

"No, she had to have another reason to call Aro." Peter said. "Because if they went to the Volturi, then they would have to explain why they want Bella killed. Once Aro took Alice's hand, he would know immediately that something was up, and I have a feeling that it's something neither of us are aware of."

"None of this makes sense," Esme said.

Brian moaned, and grunted in pain. Char had hog tied and dumped him in the corner when she arrived with him in tow.

The pilot announced that we were ready for takeoff, and I felt the plane jerk forward as he pulled away from the ramp.

"Let's just ask him," I said, nodding to our prisoner.

"Bella may know something as well," Peter said. "Edward may have said something to her."

"Jasper," Bella moaned.

"Later. I'll talk to both of them later. I want to get Bella to the cabin and make sure that she's settled first," I said, pulling back the curtain that separated the sitting area from the bedroom.

Carlisle had given Bella a pretty strong sedative that had knocked her out within minutes, but I could feel her fear while she slept. She was having nightmares and calling out for me.

Even in the small bed, my beautiful mate looked even smaller than normal. Her anguished cries cut through me like a knife, and I vowed right then and there that I would go to any lengths to protect her, to ensure her safety, and to avenge her from the harm she had suffered at my so-called brother's hands.

"Jasper," she moaned again, still in a deep sleep.

"I'm here baby." I slipped into the tiny bed beside her, pulling her close.

Her body was on fire, and she had nearly soaked through the sheets with sweat. As soon as I touched her, she immediately calmed and snuggled closer into me.

"Love you," she whispered, still deep in sleep.

"I love you too baby," I said, and kissed her forehead. "More than anything."

**X-X-X-X**

"Why should I tell you anything if you're just gonna kill me anyway?" Brian asked, spitting out a mouth full of blood.

We had finally made it to the cabin in the early hours of the morning. After making sure that Bella was comfortably sleeping, we took Brian down to the basement to see if we could get some information out of him.

Char grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. "I can either kill you straight out, or I can disembowel you and let you bleed to death. It's not really a choice, but it's yours to make."

During the Southern wars Char had been my number one Intelligence Officer. She had a reputation for extracting information out of the toughest vampires without batting an eyelash.

Brian thought about what she said. "What do you want to know?"

It was good to see that she hadn't lost her touch.

"What are Edward's plans?"

"I don't know."

Char grabbed him by his throat and squeezed. "I don't like those types of answers Brian."

He struggled to breathe, eyes bulging at the loss of air. "Okay, okay."

Char released her hold on him, and he coughed and spat out more blood. "Edward said that if we did what he asked, then he would make sure that we received his favor when the time came."

I moved from my position against the opposite wall and pulled up a chair. I turned it around and sat backwards in it, facing Brian. "What does that mean, 'when the time came'?"

"I don't know."

Char stepped forward and twisted his arm behind his back, effectively snapping the bone. He howled in pain.

"For every 'I don't know' answer, I'll break another bone. Got it?"

"You're one crazy ass bitch!" Brain screamed.

She laughed. "The longer you stall, the crazier I get. Now start talking."

He was sweating profusely, and his heart was beating way too fast. I didn't want him to go into cardiac arrest before he gave us the information we needed, so I signaled for Char to take it easy on him.

"I don't know much," Brian said, panting. "We met Edward outside of that club in Colorado Springs. He offered us a job, saying that he would pay us twenty grand each to show up when and where he said, and grab the girl."

"Why? What does he want from her?"

"I have no clue. He just said that after he was finished with her, that he would give her to us to do whatever we wanted with her."

After seeing the bruises on Bella's thighs, I knew what he wanted to do to her. I shuddered to think about what would have happened if I had just been a few minutes later.

"Tell us more about this favor he's offering to you," Emmett said.

"Edward said something about taking his rightful place alongside Alice, and once he was in charge, he would make sure that we were favored. That's all I know, I swear."

I felt that he was telling the truth about the extent of his knowledge, and there was no reason to keep him if he didn't know anything else. "Take him away."

"Major?" Peter asked, hesitantly.

I could feel Peter's reluctance to kill Brain, and while I was now in control of my demon, the fact that the boy had attacked my mate still remained. If we let him go, would he try to run back to Edward or Alice to do their bidding? And even if he didn't seek them out, he was still a human that knew way too much about vampires. With the way our luck was going lately, Aro would find the kid, learn about our involvement with him, and somehow accuse us of flaunting our supernatural status to the world.

I then looked at Emmett. He knew what needed to be done, but the part of him that screamed that it was wrong to kill humans wouldn't allow for him to just murder someone without provocation. And Char; even though she had threatened to disembowel him, and death was not foreign to her, she still had reservations about just flat out killing him.

But, that really was the only solution.

I could hear Bella three floors up, slowly moving around and bumping into things. She had still been asleep when we arrived at the cabin, and I didn't want her to reinjure herself by moving around disoriented when she should be resting. I needed to be with her, and not babysitting some sniveling human who was partially responsible for the bruises on her body.

_The same human who was intending to rape my mate_, I thought.

That thought was all I needed. I stepped forward toward Brian and stared down at him.

"Brian, you understand what we have to do now, right?"

He was crying in pain with snot running down his nose and over his lip. His arm hung at an odd angle, and I could smell the blood coagulating at the injured spot.

He nodded, too choked up with pain to say anything.

For someone so cowardly as to attempt rape, and then agree to help murder an innocent person, Brian was facing his death with a strange amount of courage and determination.

But I had no mercy for him. I would reserve that for a Being much greater than myself, and hoped that that same Being had mercy on my own soul.

I placed one hand under his chin, and with the flick of my wrist, his life came to an end.

"_Vivere commune est, sed non commune mereri_," I murmured. "Get rid of the remains Lieutenant, I'm going to go check on my mate."

I took the stairs two at a time up to our bedroom, and took a moment to compose myself before approaching Bella. Long before I had met the Cullen's I had made it a goal to never take another human life again. It had been forty years since the last time I slipped up and gave into my desire for human blood. But this murder was completely different than any other time I had taken a life, because this time I had not fed from my prey. This murder was strictly about defending my mate, _my life _and the reason I existed. And, as much as I hated playing judge and executioner, I would do it again if it meant _she_ was safe.

The bathroom door was closed, but I could hear Bella crying.

I knocked softly. "Bella, sweetheart, is everything okay?"

She sniffled and blew her nose. "Go away."

I lightly chuckled at her attempt to sound tough. "What's wrong B?"

"Nothing," she lied.

She was in so much pain, and even though she said that nothing was wrong, there was no way that she could hide it from me.

"Let me help you, please."

It would be easy to just break the lock on the door, but I didn't want to force myself on Bella, I wanted her to want—to need—me.

She shuffled over to the door and slowly pulled it open, but just barely enough for me to see one eye. "Just don't look at me, okay?"

"Bella-"

"Promise me that you won't look at me."

"B, you know that's crazy. How am I supposed to help you if I can't look at you?"

"Can't you use your freaky vamp voodoo, feel the force or somethin'?"

"Baby, let me in," I begged.

"But I'm all gross; my hair is greasy, I smell like a cow, and my face looks like meatloaf," she cried.

"And, I think you're beautiful. Open the door, please."

She debated for a moment, and finally stepped back, pulling the door all the way open. "I need to take a shower."

"You should be resting."

"I will, but I wanted to clean up a bit first. I just can't seem to get the water warm enough though," she said, nodding to the shower. She was holding her side with one arm, and holding the wall with the other to support herself.

I pulled out the little vanity bench and gently pushed her down on it. "Yeah, Carlisle must have forgotten to turn the water heater up. I'll go check it out, but I don't want you in the shower. You can barely stand up on a dry surface right now."

"But I can't wash my hair in the tub," she argued.

I flexed my fingers and wiggled them in her face. "Good thing I graduated from the Paul Mitchell School of Beauty then."

Okay, that sounded way better in my head than it did out loud. But Bella giggled anyway, and if I could take her mind off of her pain and discomfort even for a minute, then I would gladly make fun of my own masculinity.

"In that case, maybe I'll get some highlights and a new style."

I kissed her forehead. "You're perfect just the way you are. Gimme a minute and I'll be back."

Bella was sitting on the side of the tub when I got back, a large fluffy towel wrapped around her. She smiled at me, but I could feel her nervousness as I approached.

"Hey, if you would rather Rose or Char help—"

"No, I want you." She blushed a deep red color, dropping her head to hide behind her hair. "I mean, I want you to help me, please."

Once the water reached a desirable temperature, I took her hand to help her step over the side of the high tub wall. She slowly pulled the towel off as I lowered her down into the huge four person tub. Surprisingly she wasn't shy or nervous about me seeing her completely naked. But, it took everything within me to not growl or project my anger when I saw the amount of bruises that covered her torso and thighs.

"I thought you said that this was a small cabin," Bella said, settling back against the wall of the tub.

Several years ago Carlisle had purchased a couple of thousands of acres of hunting land in Toad River Valley, British Colombia. A shabby two room shack of a cabin had been included into the sale of the land, but Esme had the cabin torn down, and in place of it, built a five thousand square foot house. Each bedroom had its own ensuite bathroom and walk in closet. The closets were Alice's idea, of course.

I shrugged, kneeling at the side of the tub. "Considering that Esme designed and oversaw the building of it, it _is_ small."

Using a cup, I filled it with water and carefully poured it over her head, making sure to not drown her. Bella issued instructions to me on how much shampoo to use and how to massage it into her scalp. I must have been doing something right, because she leaned back with her eyes closed, and sighed. I could feel her contentment and a lot of her lust as I worked my fingers and the suds through her hair. I rinsed her hair and then repeated the process.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" When I didn't immediately say anything, she opened one eye and looked at me. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

She then opened both eyes and looked back over her shoulder at me. "What is it?"

I stilled my movements with my hands still in her hair and pulled her closer to me, kissing her. "If you don't knock off the lust you're throwing at me, Imma jump in this tub with you, and I don't think you're ready for that."

She framed my face with her hands and leaned over to kiss me, running her tongue over my bottom lip. "You won't know what I'm ready for if you don't come over here and see."

I groaned as her hot little tongue pushed its way into my mouth. She swept her tongue against mine, and I could feel her hands inside of my shirt, tugging it over and down my shoulders.

But I pulled away, and held her wrists in my hands. "Baby, you're way too sore for us to continue this."

"Then make me feel better," she said, tugging on my shirt once again.

And then I felt her emotions cut off. She had popped up her shield.

I stopped her again as she tried to undress me. "B, what's wrong?"

Bella released the hold she had on my shirt and pulled away, turning her head so that I wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. Was this what Carlisle was talking about when he said that she needed to heal emotionally?

"I can finish the rest, please go."

"Bella-"

"Just leave me alone Jasper!" she snapped, holding her side. She gasped at the pain from the force she used to yell.

I started to get up and leave her like she asked, but something in me could not stand the fact that she was crying and wouldn't tell me why. So instead of leaving, I stripped off all of my clothes and nudged her forward.

"What are you doing?" she asked, surprised.

"Well duh, I'm trying to get in the tub."

She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "Why?"

Her shield dropped, and I felt a rush of her lust spike again but her comfort level with me remained the same. Funny, she wasn't freaked out by my nakedness or the fact that we were now completely naked _together_. But I was the one silently freaking out about how she could pop her shield up and down like that. She was going to give me emotional whiplash.

She scooted forward far enough for me to slip in behind her and then leaned back into my chest. I turned the hot water on full blast to counteract the cooling of the water from the temperature of my body.

"Because you aren't going to just throw me out like that without telling me what's wrong." I settled in behind her, and pulled her against my chest. "Besides, we seem to communicate better while we're touching, so let's touch for a minute, and then we'll try this conversation again."

"Jasper-"

"Shh. I said touching, not talking."

She wiggled against me, and then stopped all of a sudden, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"You've felt him before," I said, and held her hips still when she tried to wiggle again.

"Yeah, but you had clothes on before."

"And?"

"And, I-"

"Shh, no talking, remember?"

"But-"

"You are so not good with following orders, are you? The rules are that we're not allowed to talk right now."

"You keep talking," she pointed out.

"Only because my mate can't seem to obey."

"Well if you wanted an obedient mate, you should have told Chelsea that before she worked her mad match making skills on us."

"Hmm, I'll make sure to remember that for my next mate." I caught her elbow before she poked me with it. "Are you trying to break your arm?"

She crossed her arms and pouted. "I don't like you very much right now."

I kissed her cheek, and then because I knew that she couldn't fight me off, I blew a raspberry against it. She squealed with laughter and tried to push me away. "Aw, you know you wuv me," I said, nuzzling her neck.

"You're such a clown." She laughed.

"I love to hear you laugh." I kissed her cheek again. "Okay, now talk to me. You know that you can tell me anything, right?"

She nodded but remained silent.

"Please baby," I begged.

She took a deep breath and settled back against me, running her hands up and down my thighs that were on either side of her. "It's..."

"It's what? Tell me," I pleaded with her.

"What happened with Edward is my fault."

"What are you talking about?"

"The day you and Em and Peter found me in New York, that night you asked me if I told you everything that happened with him, and I said yes, but I didn't."

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worse. "Go on."

"He tried…he kinda tried to force himself on me."

I was snarling before I could help myself. "What are you talking about? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I handled it myself."

"What do you mean, you handled it yourself?"

"I…I told him to get his short dick off of me."

I sat up and pulled back a little to look at her. "Wait a minute, what do you mean you told him to get his dick off of you? How much of it was _on _you in the first place?"

"Calm down Jasper."

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down when you just _now_ decide to tell me that my brother had his dick _on_ you? Are you sure it wasn't _in_ you?" I wasn't just mad at my brother, I was now mad at her. I pushed myself up out of the water and perched on the back of the huge tub. "I can't believe this."

"It wasn't like that!"

"Then how was it?" I demanded, looking down at her.

She knelt in front of me with her hands on my knees. Part of my brain was screaming at me to take notice of how close her mouth was to my own dick, but I pushed those thoughts away for the moment. Too bad my dick didn't push those thoughts away; _he_ noticed Bella and was following every movement her mouth made.

"He was telling me all of that stuff about how you set me up to be scared, and that you didn't want to be bothered with me and that's why he was there, and yada yada yada. Well I guess he thought that I was gonna just give in to him and let him in my panties, so he kinda started dry humpin' my leg."

My anger level was rising.

"Go on."

"Well I tried to zap him, but that didn't work, and I couldn't push him off of me, so I yelled in his ear for him to get his half inch dick off of me."

I wanted to laugh and high five her, but I needed the rest of the story first. "And?"

She shrugged. "And he did."

"And?" I asked again.

"And that's it."

"So what does that have to do with what happened last night? You turned him down."

"Yeah, but he said that 'no one turns him down and gets away with it', and that since 'you had your fun time with his rightful mate, that he was going to have his time with me'."

"What do you mean, his 'rightful mate'?"

"Alice. He said that Alice was his rightful mate."

"WHAT?" I yelled, jumping up.

I scared Bella with the force of my voice, and she jerked backwards in the tub, hurting her bruised ribs. I sat back down in the water and gathered her into my arms.

"I'm sorry baby… sorry."

"I'm okay," she gasped.

"Let's get out of here, so you can finish telling me everything."

"Wait." She placed a restraining hand on my arm, and she was blushing again.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"I wanna try something first."

"What?"

She kissed me softly, and then I felt her hand on my dick.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Bella!"

"What, you've touched me before, I can't touch you?"

I thought about that for half a second. What she said made sense, why would I refute it_? Because she's hurt and this is not the time for a little hanky panky, _I thought. _You need to get yourself under control and hear the rest of her story Whitlock!_

But then I felt her touch the tip of my dick and circle the head with her finger.

_Holy…fuckin'….Dear Lord, thank you for answering my prayers. I promise from now on to be a good little vampire, and to never eat humans again. Amen._

Yeah, the rest of the story could wait a few more minutes.

I closed my eyes and my head hit the back of the tub with a loud thud. "Touch all you want baby."

She stroked me slowly, up and down. "Umm…show me how," she said shyly, biting on her lip.

I covered her hand with my own, and set the tempo, going slowly at first and then faster. When it seemed that she had gotten the hang of it, I took my hand away and let her explore on her own.

"Fuck… Bella…oh God!"

She used one hand on my shaft, circling the head with her thumb as she went up, and then used the other hand to gently massage my balls. I grunted and gripped the edge of the tub, imaging that it was her mouth on me as well.

"You like?" she asked seductively, batting her eyelashes at me.

"Ugh…unff!" There was no way that I could form complete sentences with the way she was touching me.

"Maybe next time…I could…use my mouth," she suggested boldly.

My eyes popped open as she tightened her grip, pumping me harder and faster. I couldn't help but to thrust into her hand. One thing was for certain, her hand on my dick felt a thousand times better than my own hand on my dick, and those two had been nearly inseparable for the last several months.

"Imma 'bout to…cum…ah…fuck yes!"

Six months of pent up sexual frustration all came out at once and I exploded, roaring out my satisfaction. I wanted to grab her and crush her to me, but at the last moment I remembered that she was injured. She snuggled up to me and placed a kiss over my heart.

"Was that good?" she asked, her big chocolate eyes innocently looking up at me.

I pushed her wet hair over her shoulder and gently stroked her back. "It was amazing baby."

**X-X-X-X**

"Now tell me again what he said about Alice's visions?" I asked, as I tried to remain focused while I brushed Bella's hair.

After our playtime in the tub, Bella told me the rest of what Edward had said, including Alice's visions. I needed a moment to think, and I had sent her out of the bathroom to find some clothes to change into while I cleaned up the tub area.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I caught her sitting on the bed-completely naked by the way-bent over at an odd angle and trying to brush her hair. I knew that she couldn't raise her arms above her head with the way her ribs were hurting, and I also figured that was why she wasn't dressed yet. I suggested to her to let me help, she reluctantly agreed, and handed me her brush with explicit instructions on how to get the tangles out without ripping out her hair.

So far, so good.

"Jasper, I've told you everything I remember."

I pulled her robe closer around her so that I wouldn't be distracted. I was still amazed at how comfortable she was sitting around naked in front of me. _Maybe she really was ready to take this to the next level, _my dick thought. The sweet virginal side of Bella was slowly being replaced by a sexier, bolder personality.

"Think about it some more. Maybe he said, or did something small and insignificant that may help us in the long run."

I could tell that she wasn't paying attention to anything I had just said, because she turned toward me and wiggled right out of her robe.

"Bella, what is wrong with-"

She sunk her teeth down into my neck, lightly nipping at my skin. And then I felt her hot little hand sliding down the front of my basketball shorts. My dick jumped up and she caught him.

She wasn't just throwing her lust around, she was chucking it at me.

_Where the fuck was I, the Twilight Zone_? And then I smelled her.

As bad as I hated to, I dislodged her hand from around my balls. "Bella, are you ovulating?"

"Huh?"

"Baby, are you in the middle of your twenty eight days?"

I could see her mentally calculating her days. "Umm, I think so. Why?"

"'Cause you're horny as hell."

She narrowed her eyes at me and pulled away. She was embarrassed, and her damn shield popped back up. "I am not," she said, trying to pull her robe back on.

"C'mere, don't be mad."

She pulled the robe back on and clutched it closed, slowly moving over to where I had placed her back pack the night before. "I'm not mad," she said, tossing clothes around.

"Baby, it's a natural thing for your body-"

She held up a hand. "Please do not give me an anatomy lesson right now. And, stop smirking at me!"

"Aww, come on babe. I think it's hawt that you're horny for me. Don't be embarrassed by it." I puckered my lips out like a duck and nuzzled her neck, all the while making obscene humping noises and grinding against her hip.

She giggled, and tried to push me away.

"Major!" Peter yelled, knocking on the door.

"What?" I snapped.

"We're strategizing in five minutes. Move ya ass!"

Knowing that Bella was horny for me was a major turn on, and while I knew that we weren't going to go all the way, I had visions of her naked and with my face buried between her thighs. She had the cutest clit I had ever seen, and my mouth was literally watering at the thought of how many times I could make her cum with my tongue alone. I was gonna suck and lick and finger fuck her 'til morning.

"Ah fuck Pete, c'mon man!"

"Four minutes, and no, you don't have time to do _that_!" he yelled.

"Do what?" Bella asked.

I looked down at her partly open robe. Her nipples were rock hard and laughing at me. My dick picked up one of those protest signs and started walking around in circles with it. He was chanting 'we want pussy' over and over.

"Now Major!"

_Dear Lord, please help me to not kill my brother!_

**_X-X-X-X_**

"Gee Bells, what do you want to do tonight?" Peter asked, seeing us come down the stairs together.

Bella quickly picked up on his intentions, and the fact that the whole house had heard our conversation. "Same thing we do every night Petey, try to take over the world!" she said, grinning at me like a Cheshire cat.

"Knock it off you two, I'm not gonna take over the world," I said, taking my seat on the sofa.

Bella, careful of her injuries, sat down next to me and leaned against my side.

"Do you believe it?" Carlisle asked me.

I thought about it for a second. Ever since Bella had told me what Edward said I had been debating the validity of Alice's visions. If what Edward had said was true, then everything I thought I knew about my ex-wife was a lie. How had I lived for fifty years with someone and not known that they were lying the entire time? What kind of lousy empath was I, if I couldn't detect something like that?

Bella squeezed my hand and looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers. "Don't start doing that to yourself."

"What?" I asked.

"Doubting yourself. She lied and manipulated you, all of you. She was your wife, why would you doubt her feelings or the things she said to you? It's not your fault."

I don't know how she knew, but Bella was spot on with how I was feeling.

"She's right Jazz," Emmett said. "She lied to all of us, both of them did. We all believed them because that's what families do, believe in each other. They just used that to their advantage."

"Then what do we do to stop her?" Rose asked.

"Or better yet, what sets all of this in motion for you to become the new vamp ruler?" Char asked.

Esme laughed, and then let out a small sob. "The sick thing about all of this is that in the past if we had a question like that, we all turned to Alice for the answer. Now what do we do?"

Carlisle laced his fingers through Esme's and squeezed her hand. "It's okay baby, we'll figure something out."

"How though? It's like we're flying blind here," Esme said. "She can see us, and the decisions we make, but we can't see her or Edward. They could be raising an army of newborns, and training them right now as we speak."

"Or an army of old ones," Bella murmured.

We all stopped and stared at her.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"Huh, what?"

"An army of old ones," Peter said. "What made you say that?"

Bella shrugged, looking around at each of us. "I dunno, it just makes sense."

"Oh my fuckin' God," I said, realizing that she was probably right.

Peter looked at me, and I looked at him.

"We're in deep shit," Char said.

* * *

**_"Vivere commune est, sed non commune mereri" - Latin, translates to "Everybody lives, not everybody deserves to"_**

**A/N: I can't believe some of you had so little faith in me to think that I would harm Bella "in that way"! Now hit that little review button down there and tell me how sorry you are for doubting me, and I just may give you a little citrus in the next chapter. LOL!**

**Seriously, let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Muchas gracias mi beta extraordinaires JamesRamsey y Cullen818. You chicas rock-o! **And that's the extent of my Spanish!** lol**

**Thanks for all of your thoughts that you take the time to share with me. I really appreciate it!**

**SM owns it.**

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* * *

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**JPOV**

"Wait a minute, an army of old ones?" Rose asked. "What the hell does that mean?"

"The ones that fought during the Southern Wars," Peter explained. "We didn't kill them _all_."

"How many are we talkin' 'bout?" Emmett asked.

Peter and I looked at each other again, but it was Char that answered.

"Thousands."

"Thousands?" Bella asked, shocked.

"Too many to count," I said, softly.

"Vampires are more prevalent that you think Bella," Carlisle said. "Our kind have been around since the beginning of time, and it's only logical to reason that if new ones are being made, then the old ones are still living as well."

"We can't fight off thousands," Esme said. "There's only seven of us, and Bella's not even been changed yet!"

"Honey, calm down. We aren't going to have to fight thousands," Carlisle said.

"How can you be sure?"

I nodded, knowing that Carlisle was right about us not needing to fight off thousands. "Nothing is for certain," I said. "But an old vamp is harder to convince to fight than a newborn vamp. While a typical newborn is wild, they can still be led if they have the right leader, but neither Alice nor Edward has the patience to train an army of newborns. And, an old one is stubborn-"

"You're telling me," Bella mumbled.

"Quiet, you," I said, and kissed her forehead. "As I was saying, an old one will have to be convinced to fight for something other than food. Most of them are loners, and nomadic now, so the thrill of a good fight, or a threat against their food source isn't going to entice them to join an army. So if this is what Alice and Edward are planning, then it's gonna take a helluva lot to orchestrate."

"If what we're sayin' is anywhere near what's really gonna go down, then Alice and Edward will probably start tryin' to find a few of the old vamps that gave us the most problems back in the day. The ones we probably should have hunted down long ago and go rid of before now," Peter said.

"Yeah, there were definitely some loose ends we should have tied up a long time ago," Char agreed with a distant look in her eye.

I could feel a sense of dread coming from both Peter and Char, and I guess they, like me, were probably remembering some of our worst enemies and the all of the fighting we had done.

"So is that why Alice was calling Aro, for help in putting it together?" Rose asked, the sound of her voice bringing us back to reality.

Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. Like I said earlier, once Aro asks for Alice's hand, he's gonna know what the little rat was up to. He wouldn't join her against us, knowing that she wants to be ruler too. That would put his own position in danger."

"And, he wouldn't help _us_ defeat her, knowing that Jasper will usurp him," Emmett said.

"Well then, she was probably telling the truth on why she was calling Aro; she just wanted Bella dead, and figured Aro was the easiest way to get it done," I said, holding Bella just a little bit tighter.

"Okay, then what do we do to stop this?" Esme asked.

"There's no stopping it," Peter said. "We have to fight."

"That's not exactly a plan," Carlisle pointed out. "We need specifics, we need to know when this is going to happen, how we're going to protect ourselves, how much time we have to get our own battle plans together, and assemble our own allies."

"Oh God," Esme sobbed. "All of that is what Alice used to do for us. Any plans we make now, she will see, and know how to counteract them."

"Not necessarily," Peter said.

"What do you mean, not necessarily?" Rose asked.

"We have a way around her visions," Char said.

"How?" Emmett asked.

"Through me," Bella said softly. "My shield blocks her visions."

"No," I said, jumping up. "Absolutely not! Bella's shield is not powerful enough."

"But I've been working on it," Bella protested. "I can control it better now."

"Oh really?" I asked, shaking my head. "How about when you were in that alley being attacked? You couldn't control it then because you were too stressed out, too emotionally out of whack to lower it."

"You're good at popping it up, but not so much with taking it down Bells," Rose said, agreeing with me.

"But-"

"No buts Bella. To keep Alice from seeing us, we'll need your shield twenty four hours a day, every day. You cannot physically handle that."

Bella jumped up to defend herself. "Don't tell me what I can and can't handle! I can do this."

I took a deep breath before responding. I never wanted her to think of me as a dictator again, but there was no way I was going to allow her to do this. "What happens to you every time you put your shield up?"

"What are you talking about, nothing happens to me."

"Really Bella? You don't think I see it?"

"See what?" Carlisle asked, looking back and forth between us.

I hesitated before answering, giving Bella a chance to own up to it herself. I could see the stubborn set of her jaw line, and I knew that she was not going to readily admit to it. "Her heartbeat speeds up, her pulse races and she feels disoriented for a while right after she lowers it, especially if it's up for any length of time. Isn't that right Bella?"

"I can do this," she insisted.

"Well, I won't allow it."

"You're not the boss of me!" she screamed.

"Scream all you want and pitch whatever hissy fit you want, I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! In small, very small cases, yes, I say use your shield. But you cannot do this on an everyday basis."

"But-" She started to protest again, but I cut her off.

"You mean too much to me for me to just turn my back on what your shield does to you physically! There are other ways."

"What other ways?" Rose asked.

"And what about after she's changed?" Esme asked.

"It may or may not affect her in a similar way," Carlisle said. "We won't know for sure until she's changed."

"Then change me now," Bella said. "I'm ready _now_."

"You know that we can't do that right away," I said, taking her hand. "You need more time."

"I don't need more time," she protested. "I'm fine! You just think that if you change me now, I'll be so out of control as a newborn that I'll be a detriment to your battle plans!"

"Get real, Bella! Together, Peter and I have trained hundreds of newborns all at once. While training you is not gonna be a walk in the park, it can be done before we have to face this."

"Yeah, if Victoria could assemble a rogue army of newborn vamps to fight for her needs, then surely we can work with just you—even if you're stubborn as a mule," Char pointed out.

"So when do we change Bella then?" Emmett asked. "And what's the plan for blocking the little troll from seeing us?"

Peter and I looked at each other. He nodded, and I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was.

"Put your shield up for a second Bells," Peter said.

"Oh, now you want me to use it." She crossed her arms and looked at us defiantly.

"Just put your shield up woman!" I said, grinning at her flippancy. I loved it when she gave me attitude. I waited until I couldn't feel her emotions before speaking. "The wolves. We need to get them on board with helping us. It's the only way."

"Alice can't see around them, and we already know that they're excellent fighters. They won't need to be trained this time around," Peter said.

"I don't think that's going to be as easy to convince them as it was last time," Carlisle said.

I shrugged. "All we need is one of them. We have to at least try." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bella's fatigue; her breathing was labored and there were dark circles under her eyes. With her already being weak from her injuries, it was taking all that she had to keep her shield up. "Let's discuss this later. Bella needs to rest right now."

"I'm fine Jasper, stop hovering," she said, a frown forming on her face.

"No, you need to eat, and you need to sleep."

"Honey, if you don't take care of yourself now, you'll be of no use to us later," Esme said. "I'll go pop something into the microwave for you. Jasper can bring it up, but you need to go lie down now."

I didn't wait for Bella to start protesting again, so I scooped her up in my arms and took her upstairs to our bedroom.

"Was that really necessary?" Bella asked.

"You're too stubborn for your own good woman." I tucked her into bed and snuggled in beside her, making sure that she was warmly wrapped in her quilt.

She wiggled herself around so that she was lying on her good side facing me, and turned those big brown eyes on me, making sure to throw in a tiny little bottom lip pout.

_Don't look at the lip_, I thought. _Avoid the lip!_

She traced the plaid pattern on my shirt with her finger, feeling the fabric like she was looking for something. And then she found it, my nipple. Her finger made circles around it, and she smiled when she felt it stand up under her attention. Bella knew exactly what to do when she wanted something.

_Stay strong man_, I told myself. _Stay strong!_

"Jasper, I really want to help."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not saying that you can't help baby, just not while you're human."

"But how long will it be before you change me? And, then I'll have to learn to control my blood lust, and learn to fight, and…I really wanna help now. Please."

She stuck that bottom lip out again.

I kissed her forehead, ignoring the pouty lip. "Babes, I love that you wanna help our family, but not at the expense of your own health."

"I'm fine Jasper," Bella said.

I looked into her eyes, searching for the validity of her words. On one level she was trying to be okay, but on another, I could feel her anxiety and a little of her fear right under the surface.

"I'm here to listen whenever you wanna talk about what happened. I-"

"Why don't you believe me when I say that I'm fine?" she snapped.

"Did you forget that I can feel your emotions? I can see the brave front you're putting up, but-"

"But, you're still gonna change me, right?" she interrupted, totally changing the subject.

My hesitation in answering her was a mistake, because she rolled away from me and popped up her shield. I reached for her, but she scooted to the side of the bed away from me. "Bella-"

"No, it's okay, I understand. This whole thing with Alice and Edward has kinda trumped Aro's orders. You're not under any obligation to change me if you're the ruler of the vamp world."

"Bella-"

She threw off the quilt and stood up. "It's okay Jasper, really. I saw you hesitate when I asked, so it's okay that you don't want me. I'm cool with that."

It was my fault for not saying something sooner. Even though I had told her how I felt about her, I still knew how insecure she was about everything. Thanks to Renee Dwyer, Bella had lived her entire life feeling unloved and unwanted. Charlie was an excellent, loving father to her, but some things were just so engrained that it took more than simple words to convince a person.

"Will you listen to me? Please."

"No, I don't want to hear it!"

She tried to walk away from me, but I hooked my fingers in the back pocket of her long skirt and hauled her back to stand in front of me. If she hadn't been injured, I would have thrown her down onto the bed and pinned her against the mattress.

"Well you're gonna, whether you like it or not!"

She pushed against my chest. "Let me go! I don't ever want you to touch me again!"

I laughed at her, because as soon as she said it, her shield dropped, and I could feel her love for me. It nearly knocked me backwards.

"You're such a bad liar." I took the love she was giving me, added my own to it and gave it right back to her. She gasped, and clutched her chest. "Yeah, that's how I feel about you, you irritating woman."

Stubborn as she was, she still pushed against me. "Let me go!"

I pushed my hands in her hair, curling one behind her neck and pulled her to me. She tried to turn her face away to avoid my lips, but I was a vampire after all, and a lot faster. Bella attempted to fight me off as I kissed her, her tiny fist pounding into my chest. But I held her securely in my arms as I took my time exploring her mouth with my tongue.

She was helpless when I dazzled her, and the egomaniac in me did a happy dance when I heard her groan into my mouth and her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer.

"Time for you to realize something Isabella Swan, I'm never gonna let you go," I whispered, before I sucked on her bottom lip. "You got that?"

She slipped her hands under my shirt, and I felt her fingernails digging into the flesh of my back. "You think you can just order me around, throw some dazzle at me and expect me to just bow down and obey?"

With one hand I pulled the zipper of her sweater down; my tongue was tingling with anticipation to lick her. I nuzzled her neck, placing tiny kisses down her chest and over her collar bones, making my way lower. She still struggled against me. "Yeah, sumthin' like that."

"Wrong vamp boy." She was panting, and mewling from my lust that I added into the emo mix I was giving her. "I bow down to no man."

I pulled her down on to the bed and being careful of her ribs, pushed my hips into hers. "So, are you telling me that you're in charge here?"

Her heart was beating faster and she was practically creaming her panties with the feel of my dick against her. It took everything within me to keep from ripping off the little purple lace triangle and pushing myself inside of her. Was it possible for men to ovulate too, 'cause now I was horny as hell as well.

No wait, I was always horny as hell.

I was hard as fuck, and her smell was driving me wild.

"Yeah, I'm in charge," she said, gripping the sheets with her uninjured hand.

Because I had helped her get dressed, I knew that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath her sweater. As a man, I had spent too much time trying to get women _out_ of the infernal contraptions, I'd be damned if I were a willing participant in helping my woman get _in_ to one.

I pushed the sides of her sweater open and clamped down on one of her nipples, sucking on it and then twisting it with my lips as it elongated under my ministrations. I slid one hand up under her skirt, pushing it up and caressing the inside of her thigh. "Alrighty then, tell me what you want me to do."

"I want…I…"

"C'mon Bella, give me an order." I ran a finger along the seam of her panties, making sure to brush my knuckles along her slit.

"Oh God," she groaned, her fist gripping her hair when I removed my fingers from her and my mouth from her nipple at the same time. "Don't…"

"That is not an order Bella." I scolded her. "I don't know what you want me to do unless you tell me."

"Jasper…"

"That's my name, do you want to be screaming it or not?"

"Yes, yes please."

She was trying to rub her thighs together, seeking the friction her body needed. But because I was lying between her legs, I was going to purposely deny her until she told me what she wanted. Yes, I am a mean bastard.

I touched her laced covered slit again, and stuck my tongue in her belly button; just enough to tease her. "Orders Bella, I need orders," I murmured against her stomach.

Somewhere downstairs I heard Rose tell Emmett that she was going to fuck him stupid and then she pulled him out of the house. I knew I was projecting our lust, but I would damned if I toned it down right now.

"Touch me," she whispered.

"Tell me where," I prompted.

She didn't say anything, just panted.

"Tell me where Isabella," I said with a firmer tone and withdrawing my hands this time.

"You're… so mean." She took my hand and placed it between her thighs, then grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and yanked me down on top of her. "Make me cum, and if you stop before I do, I _will _kick your ass," she said through clenched teeth.

_Whoot hoot!_ My girl was fucking scary when she was horny!

"Yes ma'am."

"Say that again, louder."

"YES MA'AM!" I excitedly shouted, and ripped her skirt right down the front, the purple panties quickly following.

Bella pushed herself up on her elbows, looking down the expanse of her body and right into my eyes just as I was about to lick her. "Slowly Jasper," she said, caressing my cheek with her thumb. "I want to feel every inch of that magic tongue of yours."

I swallowed hard. How the hell could she go from Sergeant Bella, Sex Slave Driver, to soft-as-butter-lick-me-slowly, within the span of two seconds? This woman never said or acted like I expected her too. She had me more mixed up than the government's solution on healthcare.

I briefly wondered if she was trying to use me to make her forget about her attack, but her emotions, despite the lust, were an even mixture of desire and wonderment. Sex and orgasms were new to Bella, and she was simply curious to experience another.

She began running her hand through my hair and I felt her gently guiding me toward the Promised Land. "Nice and slow baby," she reminded me. "And then I'm gonna do you."

That, coupled with the way she was looking at me, had to be the sexiest thing I had ever heard. Right then at that moment, I silently vowed to live every day for the rest of eternity making sure that I loved and pleased my woman right.

No words came out of my mouth. Satisfied that her emotional temperament was stable, I could only lick my lips in preparation for what I was about to do. I spared a glace down, and then nuzzled her folds with my nose, slowly licking her. She gasped, throwing her head back and whispering my name over and over.

I wanted to hear her say my name like that again, so I licked her once more, adding a tongue twirl with it. Bella's hand was still in my hair, and I felt her grip tighten, guiding me closer to her.

"Yeah…right there baby…"

Bella smelled like those five-for-a-penny cookies I used to buy as a child at the general store in the town where I grew up. She smelled like home; hell, she _was_ my home. And if it was possible to take up permanent residence in her pussy, I would never leave. Anytime someone needed to find or speak to me, Bella would have to detach my face from between her thighs. Maybe I was getting carried away, but that's how good it was.

I slowly inserted my finger, just far enough for her to feel me inside of her and to get her to moan my name. And let me tell you, she didn't disappoint. For a second, I was scared that she was going to hurt her ribs with the way she was panting, but then she bucked her hips, sending my finger deeper and begging me for more.

Bella was so tight around my finger that I could only imagine what she would feel like once my dick was _all_ the way inside, wrapped in her wet heat. I fucked her clit with my tongue, and her juices ran down my throat.

In the distance, I heard Peter running after Char; they were both ripping their clothes off as they ran.

I found one of her extra sensitive spots, just to the right of her clit, and then I circled it with my tongue and finger as I asked her to cum for me. "Let me see you cum baby, cum for me."

"Right there…yeah…there…so good…"

She was holding onto her orgasm with a tight rein, either not knowing how to give into the feeling yet, or she was being stubborn as usual. Either was fine by me, I didn't have to breathe, and my tongue would never get tired. So I continued licking and sucking on her cute little bundle of nerves.

"You want me to lick you all night baby?" I asked sweetly, pumping my fingers in and out of her, careful not to go too far. I was, after all, saving the full experience of being totally inside her for my dick. He got the special treats.

"Oh…oh…yes…fuck…I'm 'bout to…"

And then she exploded, all over my fingers. I got my face down there just in time to lap up everything that she pumped out, even making sure to smear my face in it. I wanted to wear her scent like a badge.

Bella yanked on my hair, pulling me up and kissing me, her tongue pushing its way inside my mouth. "Fuck, I taste good," she said, before devouring my mouth again.

And that was the _second_ sexiest thing I had ever heard!

**BPOV**

I was blissfully aware of the ache in my ribs as Jasper lay curled around me. But somehow I didn't seem to care. Hell, I was too exhausted to care.

Jasper must have known how tired I was, because even though his massive erection was poking me in the ass, he didn't remind me that I had promised to reciprocate. In fact, he was stroking my hair, and whispering in my ear to go to sleep.

Was this man vamp real, and how did I get so lucky? Not only was he smart, in touch with his emotions—_and mine_!—but he was gorgeous, fierce in and out of the bedroom, and he had a very talented tongue! And did I mention the fingers? Oh. My. God!

Just thinking about those fingers and his tongue had me worked up again. And then I remembered how he said that he could lick me all night! I hoped that wherever Alice was, she was screaming in rage at seeing us curled up naked together!

_That's right bitch, he's my man and his tongue owns me!_

Jasper nuzzled my neck, and I could feel him grinning against my skin.

"What are you thinking about that's got you so worked up, again?"

"You, and your amazing fingers," I said, lacing my own fingers through his. "And that long as hell magical tongue of yours."

He ran our joined hands up and down my side, placing tiny kisses on my shoulder. "Really now?"

I shivered as his fingers found my nipple and he circled and pinched it. "Hmm…"

"You're cold," he said, moving to pull the quilt up around me.

"No, I like feeling you naked against me."

Even though he hadn't gotten off, he said that he couldn't lay next to me naked while he was still fully clothed. So he stripped off everything and curled up behind me. I thought it would make me uncomfortable to be so free around him, but it was just the opposite. Seeing him naked sent wonderful tingles down my body and I couldn't wait until we took the physical side of our relationship further.

"Maybe so, but I don't want you to freeze to death."

"Jasper?"

"Yeah baby?"

"What's really gonna happen?" I asked, scared to hear his answer.

He took a deep breath, thinking about his words before answering. "I want to tell you that I know what to do, that I'll be the one to save us, but I can't say that. For the first time in my life, I'm facing a war that I don't know how to win."

"We'll find a way baby." I yawned. "We'll just fight 'em like you used to before you met Alice, before you could see what was coming," I murmured.

"Bella," Jasper said, some time much later on.

"Huh?" I asked, almost asleep.

"To answer your earlier question, yes, I'm gonna change you soon, really soon, and then train you to fight. It's gonna be difficult, but I want you by my side when we take these fuckers down."

X-X-X-X

I woke up sweating, panting and screaming.

But it wasn't because I had had a nightmare.

It was because Jasper's face and that magic tongue of his was suctioned between my thighs. I had heard of wet dreams before, but up until now, I thought that was only something for prepubescent boys and old dirty men.

Who needed an alarm clock when you had a Jasper?

"Good morning beautiful," he said a few minutes later, grinning at me with my arousal running down his chin. "I hope you don't mind, but I was a little hungry." He crawled up my body, placing tiny kisses as he went.

"You can wake me up like that anytime you want."

I grabbed his ears and pulled him down for a kiss. My ribs weren't hurting nearly as bad as they had been the day before, and I was feeling a little frisky. I nudged him, and he obliged, rolling over on his back and pulling me over on top of him.

I straddled his hips and moved my pelvis, rubbing against his very hard erection…just a little further, and he would be inside me.

But Jasper put his hands on my hips, stopping me. "Hey babe?"

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was ready for this, and I knew that he was born ready. But, had I mis-read his signals?

"As great as this is, we can't right now."

"Why?"

"We've got a long day ahead of us."

I ran my hand down his body, palming his very hard erection. "Yeah, there's definitely somethin' long ahead of us," I said, circling the head of his cock with my finger.

He groaned and trembled before rolling me off of him. "If we start that, we'll never finish."

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked, pouting. "I'm ready to do it now."

He laughed and kissed my forehead before sliding out of bed. "Babe, if you have to say it like that, then you're not ready. C'mon, shower first and then your surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yep, your second birthday gift."

"Are you gonna shower with me?" I asked, reaching for him again.

He caught my hand before I could touch him, and kissed my knuckles. "Bella, I promise you that once we get where we're going, we'll have plenty of time for that."

"Where are we goin'?"

"Well first, you're going to take a shower, and then you'll see."

"Jasper, you know that I hate surprises."

"Aww, well then I guess I'd better tell you… NOT! Go shower woman."

I rolled my eyes at him and stomped away. "Fine."

I took my time in the shower and then afterwards checking myself out in the mirror. The smaller bruises on my neck, arms and chest had already begun to fade. But the deep bruises on my stomach and side where my ribs were hurting were still a dark shade of purple. It didn't hurt as much when I took a deep breath, and at least I could raise my arms above my head now.

I turned my face to the light to check out my profile. The cut on my lip was now healed, thanks to all of the kissing Jasper and I had done the night before. A tiny bit of his venom had sealed that wound as well as the one on my hand. There was nothing I could do about the bruises that were still visible on my face except apply a little bit of makeup to hide them. The bruises on my thighs were still very much there, but at least I no longer felt like wincing every time I moved.

It wasn't in my nature to worry about what to wear, and since Jasper wouldn't tell me where we were going, I decided to just pull on a pair of jeans, a sweater and my new all weather boots. I hadn't seen much of our surroundings outside of the house, but from the way Jasper had described it, we were somewhere remote and in the woods. It was currently sunny and warm, but who knew what the weather would be like once we got to where we were going.

"Hey, are you ready?" Jasper asked, sticking his head through the cracked door.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Tell me where we're going."

He came all the way into the bedroom and kissed me softly. "Okay, okay I'll tell you. We're going down to the garage."

"What? I thought you said—"

"Woman, will you just come on?"

When I started to resist, he just scooped me up into his arms and carried me down the stairs.

"Put me down!" I protested, kicking my legs out.

"No way. I've got you now, and you aren't going anywhere."

"Chill out Bells," Rose said, standing at the door that led from the kitchen to the garage. "You're gonna love it."

"Close your eyes and no peeking," Emmett instructed.

"I don't want-" I felt a blindfold come over my eyes. "Hey!"

"Touch that blindfold, and we'll tie your hands down," Char threatened.

"You just wait until Imma vamp!" I screamed at them. "You'll all be sorry!"

"Yada, yada yada. Blah, blah blah, whatever," Jasper said, sitting me down on my feet and slipping an arm around my waist to steady me when I swayed. "Listen to me for a second, Bella."

"What?" I asked angrily, crossing my arms with a huff.

"Are you sure you wanna change her?" Peter asked. "'Cause if she's this difficult now, I can only imagine what she's gonna be like later on when she's got real venom runnin' through her system."

I turned my head in the direction of Peter's voice. "Keep talkin' country boy, you'll be first on my list."

"Ohhh, I'm scared," Peter taunted.

I felt his wet finger in my ear, and I screamed, swatting out at him. He laughed manically, as I missed and I could feel the wind swishing around us as he ran around to my other side and stuck his finger in my other ear.

"That's it! Imma beat you down like I did Alice!"

I reached up to take the blindfold off, but Jasper grabbed my hand to stop me. I guess he forgot to not touch my skin when I got worked up with anger, because he gasped and then fell to his knees when I zapped him.

As soon as I heard him hit the floor, I snatched the blindfold off. "Oh God! I'm sorry baby, so sorry."

"I'm fine Bella, I'm fine," he mumbled, picking himself up off the floor. He stumbled a little.

"Will you two knock it off now?" Char asked. "Especially since you ruined the surprise, Peter."

"Sorry Bella," Peter said.

He hung his head as if he were ashamed of his behavior. But I knew better, because he looked up at me through his lashes, and smirked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and with my finger, made the universal sign of cutting his throat.

"Surprise, what surprise?" I asked.

"Your second gift, remember?" Jasper said.

Because Peter had been running around me acting like a fool, I had failed to see the large covered vehicle sitting in the garage. At the mention of my second gift, Jasper pulled the cream color tarp off, revealing a red 1953 Chevrolet truck underneath.

It was my truck! Only it _wasn't_ my truck, because it was completely new.

"What the…what did you…how did you..?"

Jasper was grinning from ear to ear. "When Jenks called and asked me what to do with your truck, at first I thought about just sending it to the junk yard. But then I got to thinking that maybe it could be salvaged. So, with a little help from Em, we tracked down all of the parts necessary to get it back to its original show room floor condition. Rose knows a few people, who knew someone that could make it happen when we wanted it done, and so here ya go."

"Wait a second, this is _my_ truck? The one that Charlie gave me, the one that used to belong to Billy Black?"

"Yeah," Emmett said. "Only now it looks like it did back in 1953, with a few upgrades of course."

I reached out and touched the hood. Gone was the chipping paint and the Bondo that Charlie had used to patch the really bad rust spots. It was now candy apple red. The chrome on the bumper was shining so brightly that I could see my reflection in it. The windshield was new too, and didn't have those scrapes across it from bad, over worked wipers.

I walked around the back of the truck, running my fingers over the bulbous wheel covers. The tail gate didn't squeak or get stuck when I let it down or when I pushed it back up. Two chrome Flowmaster exhaust pipes proudly protruded out of the back from underneath. And, ohmigod! The tires were BF Goodrich Silvertown whitewall radials sitting on twenty four inch rims!

I think I had a tiny orgasm looking at those tires.

Emmett raised the hood and showed me the brand new engine, detailing all of the specifications and making sure to add that it would now run way faster than 55 miles per hour, especially since it now had two nitrous oxide tanks installed.

"Do you like it?" Jasper asked. He was looking at me like he was scared of my answer.

"Do I like it?" Forgetting my injuries, I ran to him and jumped in his arms, throwing my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist. He caught and held me easily, supporting my weight with his hands on my butt. "I love it!"

"You do, really?"

I nodded, too choked up to speak past the tears. "It's the best gift I've ever gotten, twice!" I laughed, thinking about the first time I had been given the truck. "Thank you, thank you for giving me back a little piece of Charlie," I whispered in his ear.

Jasper pulled back a little and looked deep in my eyes. "I love you."

Jasper had been sending me his love for a couple of days now, and I think I had even dreamed that he had said it to me after my attack, but that was the first time that he had said the actual words out loud to accompany the emotions. It was nearly overwhelming.

I curled my fingers in his hair and yanked his head back before attacking his lips with my own. He groaned, and I took it as an invitation to explore his mouth with my tongue. No one and nothing else mattered as I kissed my mate, my man and my best friend.

"Hey, I helped too," Emmett said, pouting. "Do I get one of those?"

I heard the sound of Rose punching Em. "Shut up fool!"

"Aw babe, you know I was just kiddin'!"

I pulled back, panting. "I love you too, more than you'll ever know."

"I know baby, I can feel it, remember?" He kissed my cheek before releasing and setting me down. "We need to get on the road if we're gonna get there before it gets too late."

"Where are we all going now?" I asked, looking around at my family.

"Not us honey, you," Char said.

"Me?"

"And me too of course," Jasper said.

Peter ran into the house and brought out my hiking back pack, throwing it onto the back of the truck. "Have fun Bells, and sorry for ruining your surprise."

I hugged him. "You didn't ruin anything, Peter."

"Be safe lil' sis," Emmett said, being careful of my ribs as he hugged me. "Take care of her bro."

"Thank you Em, for everything." I kissed his cheek.

"I'm just glad you like it," he said shyly.

Rose and Char both hugged me next. "Just remember what we said at the spa," Rose whispered in my ear.

"Will someone please tell me where I'm going?" I asked. "And where's Carlisle and Esme?

"They had some business they needed to attend to," Char said. "They'll be back by the time you and Jazz get back home."

Jasper handed me the truck keys. "You drive, I'll navigate."

"Where are you taking me?" I asked again.

"On your last human adventure baby," he said before kissing me.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, the next two-or few- chapters will be a little fluffy. Just hang in there with me and we'll get to the action soon enough. As always, please let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm trying to do better about replying to reviews.**

**For those of you reading my other fic, To Keep You Safe, I am almost finished with the next chapter and hope to have it posted by the end of next week. I know that I suck since it's been so long between updates, it's just that the words would not flow right. Hopefully this will be the last re-write of that chapter and you'll like it as well. I've even added a pic of Bella's engagement ring on my profile, so check that out as well. **

**Leave me some love!**


	19. Chapter 19

**tHirTeEn**

**Chapter 19**

**Thanks so much to all of you who are reading, and all of you who take a moment to tell me what you liked/disliked. I guess I lost a lot of readers last chatper due to the fluffy nature of things, but I hope that you come back to me soon. I really miss hearing from you.**

**Cullen818 and JamesRamsey are so cool, they have to wear sunglasses at night! ;)**

**SM owns it, and it's still fluffy in JasBelland!**

* * *

**JPOV**

Bella turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life, the dual exhaust pipes amplifying the sound. She squealed and clapped her hands at the sound, smiling from ear to ear. It made me so incredibly happy to see her excited and to feel her appreciation for having a little piece of Charlie with her.

The first night after we had declared our interest in each other, she had told me about her father, and I was remorseful that I would never get to meet the man. Since I would never get to thank him for raising such an amazing, well rounded woman, I was glad that I could always help her keep her memories of him alive.

We headed northeast on Highway 97 toward the Yukon Territory, and drove for about three hours, passing the Testa River and Stone Mountain. Right as we got to Muncho Lake, I instructed Bella to pull off the road at the Strawberry Flats campground.

"We're going camping here?" Bella asked.

"Nope, not camping. We're going on a boat tour," I said and grinned before lacing my fingers through hers.

We checked in at the campground office, where we signed a hold harmless liability agreement and were outfitted with standard issue life vests before following the tour guide down to the dock to board a small pontoon boat. I, of course, didn't need the vest, but wore it anyway for appearance sake.

It didn't escape my notice that ever since we had entered the small office, the tour guide had been eyeing me up and down. I pretended not to notice, but every time she looked at me, Bella's nostrils would flare out a little more in annoyance, and she would tighten her grip around my waist.

It was just us and another older couple on the tour. They appeared to be about seventy or eighty years old, and you could tell that they were very much in love. Looking at them made me think about Bella and I. We would never physically grow to be that old, but our love would transcend centuries. We would be together until the end of time, and there was nothing that Alice or Edward or even the whole Volturi Guard could do about it.

"This is so pretty!" Bella said, bouncing up and down on her toes.

The word pretty didn't even come close to describing the lake and surrounding area. It was a peaceful cloudy day and ever so often you could see fish jump out of the water to catch a passing fly or hear the loud squawk of the birds overhead. It was absolutely beautiful.

"What are you thinking?" Bella asked, looking up at me with affection.

I pulled her to stand in front of me against the rail of the boat, her back to my chest, and shoved my hands into the front pocket of her jeans. "I was just thinking about how much I love you." She giggled when I kissed her neck. "And, I was thinking that we will be together and in love longer than that couple over there."

I felt a shiver run through Bella, but she remained quiet. If I hadn't ever felt her love for me, it would have concerned me that she didn't respond to my observation with a positive remark.

"What is it baby?"

She turned around to look up at me. "What if something happens, and –"

"Don't even think about it Bella," I said, wanting to head her fears off before they could grow.

"How can you be so certain?"

I leaned down and kissed her softly. "Do you remember what you said last night?"

A sexy smirk displayed across her face. "I said a lot of things last night."

I chuckled, remembering a few of the more sensual things that she said. "Yes, you said and screamed a lot last night." I ran my hands down the backside of her jeans, cupping her cute little ass in my hands. "But you said one thing that got me thinkin'."

"What was that?"

"You said that we would fight them like we did before I knew Alice, before we could see what was coming."

"Okay, and?"

"If we're gonna be fighting old school vamps, then we're gonna need to use old school techniques. There's a reason that Peter and I never lost a fight, and it wasn't because I could control our enemies emotions, or because Peter had his weird Jedi shit workin'."

"Then what was it?"

"It's because we're master strategists. We could plan out a battle and damn near see the outcome before we even started to fight. We're gonna get through this."

"So, you've got a plan?" Bella asked.

I nodded, grinning. "Yep, I got me a plan."

When it became obvious that Bella and I weren't listening to anything the tour guide was saying, she cleared her throat, and gave us a pointed glance.

"We'll talk about it later baby," I whispered to Bella.

"How deep is the lake?" The old man asked.

"At its deepest point its 223 meters, that's 732 feet for you Americans," the tour guide said, turned and looked directly at Bella with an air of hostility.

Not one to back down, Bella looked right back at her with equal disdain.

"Next time we come, we'll have to bring our fishing poles," the old man said to his wife, gently kissing her cheek.

The tour guide moved to stand closer to us and went on to tell us about the Folded mountains and the various wildflowers and plants that could be found in the area, all the while eyeing me up and down.

"The lake's cold, deep waters are home to lake trout, arctic grayling, bull trout and whitefish," the tour guide said. "And, if you'll notice in the distance, the lake is surrounded by the Muskwa Ranges to the west and the Sentinel Ranges to the east."

"Why is the water so green?" Bella asked.

She glanced at me, smiled, but then turned to Bella and scowled. "The jade green color is attributed to the copper oxide that is leached from the bedrock underneath."

"What does that word, Muncho, mean?" I asked.

"It means 'big water' in the Kaska language, spoken by the Athapaskan Indians," she replied sweetly, licking her lips and looking up at me.

I took a step back. Was she blind? Did she not see my woman standing right _next_ to me? "What about the wildlife? What type of game roam the area?"

She took a step forward and I swore that I heard Bella growling at her. "What type of game are you looking for?" she asked, running a hand up my arm.

"She must have some sort of death wish," I heard the little old lady whisper to her husband, and then nodded at the tour guide and Bella.

I felt Bella tremble and her body tensed as if she were about to attack. "Uh, excuse me?" Bella said, looking at the guide's hand on my arm and then at her.

I took another step back and yanked Bella backward, making sure to keep her secured to my side. "Well, my _wife_ here likes to hunt," I said, looking down at Bella and smiling. But she stiffened, and slightly pulled away.

"Yeah, sometimes I like to take big bitches down with my bare hands," Bella said, showing her teeth.

The old man laughed out loud.

"Cut it out Bella," I whispered close to her ear, laughing.

The tour guide looked at Bella, obviously thinking that my woman was either wild or crazy. She took a step back. "Well, on any given day you can find moose, caribou and stone sheep. I think that's all we have time for, so I'll be turning the boat around now."

The older couple laughed at us. "That's right sweetie, sometimes you have to stake your claim!" the little old lady said to Bella.

"How long have you been married?" Bella asked the couple.

"Sixty-two wonderful years," the old man answered, smiling fondly at his wife. "And what about you two?"

"We're on our honeymoon," I said, holding Bella closer.

Bella gasped, and quirked an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. What was that look about? Did she not want to be married to me?

Wait a minute, did I want to be married to her?

The day I divorced Alice, I vowed to never find myself trapped like that again. It wasn't necessarily the fear of commitment; it was the fear of being unbearably miserable that I was afraid of. Being a miserable empath was not fun for me or the people I projected my feelings onto. Getting rid of Alice was like a fat man losing weight. I was able to breathe better, and I was no longer emotionally tired and depressed all the time.

_But it's not like that with Bella_, I thought.

The old lady clasped her hands together, smiling at us in awe. "It's so wonderful to see young love."

"Take good care of each other," the old man said, patting me on the back. "Even when you think you know what's best, always listen to what she has to say." He gave me a strange look, but said nothing about the fact that my back must have felt like a rock wall underneath his hand.

"And never go to bed angry," the lady said.

"Yeah, leave the bed for the making up part," he said, waggling his eyebrows at us and kissed his wife.

"They were sweet," Bella said, waving to the older couple as they made their way down the dock.

Fifteen minutes later we were climbing back into the truck and heading north again, this time with me driving.

"Do you not want to be married to me?" I blurted out, surprising myself. I didn't mean to just say it like that, but her reaction to my _wife_ and _honeymoon_ reference bothered me.

"What?" Bella asked, looking up from her iPod.

I took a deep breath. "Back there, when I called you my wife, and when I told that old couple that we were on our honeymoon, you gave me a weird look, and you pulled away from me."

"Maybe you shouldn't read too much into my body language," Bella snapped and slid across the leather bench seat to the farthest side of the truck cab.

"Whoa, wait a minute. Where did that come from?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," she said, staring out the window. "I'm sorry."

"Bella-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

I pulled the truck off the side of the road and turned off the engine. "Well we're gonna talk about it." I reached for her hand, and wouldn't let it go when she tried pulling away from me. "Tell me what's wrong."

She rolled her eyes. "There's nothing wrong, Jasper."

"Then why are you pulling away from me?"

She turned and looked at me with tears in her eyes. "You used to love Alice."

Where was she going with this? "Um, okay. Yes, I used to love Alice."

"You thought she was your mate," she pointed out.

"Okay…"

"But you let her go," she said softly.

"Baby, we talked about this last night."

"No, we didn't do much _talking_ at all last night."

_Yes, we did talk about this last night_, I thought. I replayed the conversation from the previous night in my head. We started a similar conversation but…ugh…we never finished it! And it suddenly hit me what her fears really were. She was afraid that after a while of being with her, that I wouldn't want her either. But didn't I tell her that I was never going to let her go? Didn't I just tell her that I loved her?

"I told you that I was never gonna let you go. I love you."

"But don't you see Jasper, you thought you loved _her_, you thought _she_ was your mate. But you still divorced her, you let her go."

"Bella-"

"I don't want you to promise me something that you can't see through," she cried. "You don't know what's gonna happen with all of this coming at us. You don't know how you're gonna feel about me when all of the fighting is over and you take over Aro's position."

I moved closer to her, and refused to release her when she tried to pull away. "Listen to me Bella. We're mated-"

"Chelsea –"

"Fuck what Chelsea did!" I yelled. "What did Edward say to you?"

"Huh?"

"Edward told you that Alice's vision was of _you_ beside me, right?" When she didn't respond I went on with my explanation. "At the time I didn't stop to pay attention to it, but that day in the meadow, right before Aro was giving you over to Alec, Alice said that she needed me, but I felt that she was trying to hide something. I think that's when she _saw_ you in her vision with me taking over the vamp world, which means that what Chelsea did to us meant nothing!" I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. "_You_ are my true mate, and _you_ are the one I love."

"But-"

"There are no buts about it, Bella. I have no doubts about how I feel about you, about us."

She buried her face in my chest and let me stroke her back while she cried.

"I-I need…we need time," she mumbled.

"I know baby, and we've got all the time in the world."

"What if something happens…in the fight, and…"

"No, we're gonna get through this, and then you're gonna be my wife."

"Don't I even get a say in this?"

"Nope, I'm the Major, and what I say goes."

X-X-X-X

"So, where are we going now?" Bella asked.

I looked over and grinned at her. "Well we're definitely not going around anymore female tour guides."

"She was askin' for it," Bella said, selecting a playlist on her iPod. "She'd better hope that she doesn't run into me after I'm changed."

Stevie Ray Vaughn and his guitar filled the silence in the cab of the truck. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence because Bella and I were secure enough in our relationship that we didn't need to make idle chit chat. She snuggled up against me on the new leather bench seat and laced her fingers through my free hand.

"Jasper," Bella said nervously.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Are you taking me off somewhere to kill me?"

"What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Well you said you were taking me on my last adventure!"

"Yes, this will probably be your last adventure, but we still have a while before I change you."

"So then where are we going?"

"Even if I told you, you still wouldn't know."

"But-"

"Do you trust me?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know that I do. But-"

I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Then sit back and enjoy the scenery. We've got a little while to go before we get there."

We drove for a couple of more hours, only stopping at various points to take pictures of the scenery, for Bella to eat the lunch that Rose had packed for her, and to make out in the cab of the truck. I was hoping that one day we would get to christen it with more than a few kisses and dry humping. _Sorry Charlie!_

"Liard River Hot Spring?" she read off the sign we passed. "So, is this where we're camping?"

"Nope."

We drove for another forty-five minutes before exiting off the interstate onto a two lane road. It was yet another twenty minutes before I spotted the dirt and gravel road hidden by the overgrowth. I turned onto the unpaved road and drove for a few minutes before parking the truck and getting out.

"We have to hike from here," I said, handing Bella her hiking pack.

"Jasper, you know that I'm not good with tree roots and hacking my way through the underbrush."

"Stop worrying, we'll be there in twenty minutes if you'll get on my back." I kissed her nose and leaned down for her to hop on.

"I don't like riding like this," she mumbled, wrapping her legs around my waist.

I shifted, running my hands under her thighs to make sure that she was secure. "I'm sure that you'll find a position that you like to ride soon enough," I said, and felt her lust spike.

I hadn't been to the campsite in years, and if I recalled correctly, the last time that I had been there was when Alice and I had been married. It was the last straw that finally broke our marriage.

I had tried to surprise her with a weekend away, hoping to reconnect with her, and to show her that I could be spontaneous and romantic in my own little way. Emmett and Rose had helped me set up a campsite with a huge family sized tent, mounds of pillows, candles, flowers and a battery operated radio. I had planned to take her out for a little candle lit hunting, swimming in the hot springs and bring her back to the campsite to show her the ball room dancing moves that I had begged Rose to teach me. And then I was going to make love to my wife and mate in the huge mound of pillows.

Only Alice had complained the whole time, saying that the mountains interrupted the internet signal for her laptop, the wind blew her hair around too much, or there were too many bugs and that she didn't like being so far from her closets and shoes. Needless to say, we packed her shit—four suitcases—and left the very next day.

When Rose suggested that I bring Bella here, I had argued that I didn't want to make new, good memories with my true mate in a place that I had once had nightmares with my ex-wife. Char pointed out that due to Alice's overall disgust of the place, I really didn't have any memories of the place anyway, and so it wouldn't really matter seeing that the camp site had changed so much in the years since I had been there.

I conceded, and here we were.

I didn't run as fast as I normally would because I had Bella on my back, holding on to me for dear life while she screamed like a banshee in my ear. I just hoped that she save a little of her larynx for later, because I fully intended for her to be screaming my name before the day was over.

The campsite was actually on Cullen land, but because I knew how uncomfortable it was for Bella to ride on my back while I was running, we took the long scenic route to get here. Rose and Char had agreed to come ahead of us to clean up. They took the more direct way to get to the campsite, through Cullen property, and had been gone long before we even left Muncho Lake.

We broke though the last grove of trees and came upon the camp site meadow. Char was right; the meadow had changed since the last time I had been there. The wildflowers, plants and trees were more mature, and the hot springs pool in the distance had expanded and now had a small waterfall feeding into it. And then there was the yurt.

"Oh wow! This place is beautiful!" Bella exclaimed, wiggling off my back.

I scooped up the hiking back pack that she dropped on the ground and followed her down the small hill, closer to the yurt.

"Where are we?" Bella asked, reaching for my hand.

I pulled her to me as we walked through the field of flowers. "We're actually at the edge of the Cullen property. Esme had the yurt built a few years ago."

"I've heard of yurt's before, but I've never seen one."

I had only seen pictures of Esme's yurt before, but from what I had seen, it was extraordinary. I produced a key and undid the pad lock on the door. "Let me just tell ya, this ain't your normal yurt."

Before, we would all just camp out under the stars after a long day of hunting. But Esme being Esme, wanted something a little more modern while still keeping in mind the rustic, natural beauty that surrounded the place. And, after Alice's diva meltdown about camping outside, Esme had hired a team of men to construct the yurt.

A yurt is shaped and looks a lot like a teepee. Except this yurt, Esme's yurt, was not primitive by any means. It was ninety feet in diameter with hard wood floors, Persian rugs and lazy boy recliners, a loft bedroom, bookshelves overflowing with the classics, a flat screen TV-thanks to Emmett—a fireplace and even a full size bathroom and kitchen. And, of course, a top of the line GE generator to produce enough electricity to run everything.

It was a mini mansion.

But what I hadn't expected to see was the huge four poster bed sitting in the middle of the living room. From what Esme had told me, the loft usually served as the bedroom. Rose and Char must have moved it so that we could take full advantage of the view of the meadow and waterfall outside of the window. If Bella had any doubt as to what the next few days held, seeing that bed surly put them to rest.

"Wow! This is unbelievable!"

Excited, Bella ran over and bounced on the bed, then moved around the yurt, nervously picking up items and putting them down again. Her emotions were a little on edge and flip flopping; she understood why I had brought her here.

I dropped her back pack at the foot of the bed and went over to start a fire in the small stone fireplace. Even though the days were still warm, the nights were cold, and I didn't want Bella catching a chill being in the open.

"Can you c'mere for a sec, baby?" I asked Bella, waving her over to the bed. I leaned back against the headboard and made room for her beside me.

Instead of settling in next to me on the bed, Bella climbed over my lap and sat down on my thighs, straddling me. "What's up?" she asked, then cocked a smug eyebrow when she _felt_ what was up. She wiggled around and laughed when I hissed. "My my, that's an impressive amount of 'up'."

I slightly thrust upward into her. "Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet."

She gasped a little, and leaned forward to kiss me, running her tongue across my bottom lip as her hands found their way underneath my shirt. I hooked my hands around and beneath her ass, and pulled her closer, both of us hissing at the friction that caused. So I did it again.

I was so caught up in kissing and rubbing her back and forth across my erection that I didn't even notice when she had taken her sweater off. All I knew was that my hands were now inside of her tank top and bra, fondling her breasts as I kissed and sucked on the skin at her neck.

My thumbs circled her nipples, and I took great satisfaction at the softly whimpering noises she was making. Without thinking, I pushed up her tiny tank top and ripped apart the hook thing on the back of the bra, completely tearing it from her body.

"Oooh, I think I like it when you get rough," Bella panted.

And at her words I stopped.

What the hell was I doing? This was all moving too fast. My intentions were to talk to her before any of this happened.

"Jasper?" Bella asked, a worried expression on her face. "What is it?"

I looked down between us, noticing my hands still gripping her breasts. Slowly, I removed my hands from under her tank, pulling it down and then I pushed her back a little.

"We need to talk."

"Okay?" she said, biting her bottom lip nervously.

I could feel her worry, and I knew that I needed to say something before she really got herself worked up. I took a deep breath and leaned toward her, pressing my forehead against hers.

"Jasper, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, baby." I kissed her nose. "But I wanna know- I need to know-if you're okay with everything that has happened." She started to pull away, but I stopped her with what I said next. "Bella, it scares me that I may do something that would upset or hurt you. I don't want you pulling away from me out of fear because of something that my _brother_ did."

"He didn't hurt me like that Jasper, I told you that."

"Yes, but you _were_ hurt; four men attacked and held you down. And, I don't want to rush you into doing something that you're not ready for. I-I couldn't stand it if I hurt you."

"Jasper, I love you, and I don't associate anything he did to me, with anything that we do—even if you do get a little rough. Please understand me when I say that I'm okay and that I kinda like it when you manhandle me."

I closed my eyes, nodded, and then buried my head in the valley of her boobs. I needed a moment to feel her out, to make sure that what she said was how she really felt. Bella had never given me a reason to doubt anything she had ever said to me, but I had spent enough years with Rose to know how a physical attack could affect the mind long after you thought you were healed and over it.

"You okay down there?" She stroked the back of my head, running her fingers through my hair.

I mumbled something and then surprised myself by making a purring sound.

"What was that?"

My arms tighten around her. "I said that I was so scared that I had lost you," I repeated softly.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda a tough chick."

"I know, and that's what scares me the most. Sometimes you don't think things through before you do them."

"Jasper," she whined in a cute little tone.

"Bella," I said, matching her tone. "Hey babe, why don't you go ahead and start your dinner while I go chop more wood for the fire?"

While I wasn't just going to jump on her, I wanted to give Bella a little time to get used to the idea of what was about to happen. My body may have been in a rush to be with her, but I didn't want to pressure her. We were still going to take this as slow-or as fast- as she wanted.

I felt her heartbeat speed up. "You're leaving me here, alone?"

I kissed her quickly and rubbed my nose against hers. "Just for an hour or so. I'll also need to hunt and patrol the perimeter while I'm out." I didn't want to leave her, but I needed to feed. It was the only way to ensure that I would be in control of my instincts and actions later on.

"Okay," she said in a small voice.

"I won't go too far, so I'll still be able to hear you if you need me."

She was chewing on her bottom lip, and I could smell the salt of her tears even before they fell.

I tilted her head back to look into her eyes. "What's wrong, B?"

She took a couple of deep breaths to dry the unshed tears and scrubbed her face with the palms of her hands. "God, I feel like such a girl," she moaned and buried her face in my chest.

I chuckled at her expression, and kissed her forehead. "Baby, that's because you are."

"Thank you for doing this. You knew that I didn't want the entire family listening to us, and you did this for me. Thank you."

"Bella, I love you, and I would do anything for you."

She looked up at me and the fat tears that she had been fighting finally rolled down her cheeks. "I don't deserve you."

"You deserve so much more than me," I whispered, kissing her softly.

I held her for a few minutes more until she got herself under control. After reassuring me over and over that she was okay, she finally pushed me out of the yurt, told me to take care of my business and closed the door in my face.

My desire to get back to my girl was nearly overwhelming, so with vampire speed, I chopped enough wood to last way longer than we would need. I also made sure to do a wide sweep of the area around the meadow and yurt, killing a moose and a small deer in the process.

I wasn't really concerned about other vampires wondering onto the property because we were so far from civilization and their food source, but it was hunting season, and I didn't want overzealous hunters wielding their rifles and shooting at game this close to our campsite. Even though I was bullet proof, Bella wasn't.

Satisfied that we were safe from intrusion, and that Bella would be sufficiently warm should a freak snow shower come upon us, I made my way back to the yurt.

When I entered, she was in the kitchen chopping vegetables and singing along to whatever song was playing through her IPod ear buds. My eyes followed the sway of her hips as she danced around the kitchen, pulling food out of the refrigerator and sprinkling spices into the skillet. She had her back to me, so I took a moment to watch her.

It was when she stuck her pink tongue out to taste whatever she was cooking that propelled me forward to her. Bella was completely unaware that I was behind her, and when I slipped my arms around her waist I startled her so that she sliced right through her finger with the knife in her hand.

"Oh shit! You scared the hell out of me!" she said, snatching a paper towel off the holder and wrapping it around her bleeding finger.

"God baby, I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's okay," Bella said, pulling away from me and looking down at her finger. "Just turn that off will ya?" She nodded toward the stove.

I turned off the stove and took her hand in mine. "Let me help, please."

She consented, blinking back tears from the pain. The cut was deep, bleeding badly, and I wasn't entirely sure that I could find a way to stitch it up for her. Carlisle and Esme weren't at the house, but even if they were, it was too far to run with Bella on my back and her being injured. So I did the next best thing.

I stuck her finger in my mouth.

Bella's blood filled my mouth as I sucked on the wound. It was so much better than I remembered, and I closed my eyes and moaned in pleasure as her sweet nectar ran down the back of my throat.

"Jasper," Bella whispered.

My eyes popped open and I looked down into her chocolate eyes. She was panting, and her lust—or was it mine?—swirled around us. Slowly, with a little bit of venom, I licked the wound closed. But I didn't release her hand.

I placed tiny kisses on her hand, nuzzling her palm with my nose. She wiggled her fingers against my face as I licked her wrist, and continued down to the bend of her arm with my tongue.

"So sweet," I murmured, taking a step forward and pinning Bella between the kitchen cabinets and my body. Because I had ripped her bra apart, her nipples were standing at attention and straining against the fabric of her white tank top. "I wanna taste you...everywhere."

Bella wound her arms around my neck and pulled me impossibly closer to her. "Please, yes please."

I kissed her softly, teasing her lips with my own. The sound of her moans encouraged me, and I slipped my tongue in her mouth, tasting her. My hands, resting on her hips, found the closure of her jeans, and I eagerly popped the buttons open.

She gasped as I stroked the skin of her abdomen right above the waistband of her jeans. Bella pushed her hips into me, and I cupped her cute little ass in my hands and pulled her closer. We both moaned as I pushed my rock hard erection against her soft core.

I could feel what was about to happen, but I wanted to make sure that Bella was ready for it. My emotional feelers didn't let me down; Bella was nervous, but she was ready.

"Touch me, please," she groaned.

"Bella," I whispered against her throat as I sucked on her skin.

With one hand around her back holding her to me, I slipped the other around and down the front of her jeans and into her panties, stroking her. I watched as her lust filled eyes widened with the sensation of my finger inside of her.

"More, I need more," she panted, spreading her legs.

There was no need for her to ask, I was going to give her everything she wanted.

And so much more…

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**A/N: Please tell me what you think. Pretty pretty please, with a naked Jasper on top. **on knees begging and looking at you with puppy dog eyes*****

**There's a link to pictures of yurts on my profile page. Check it out, they're way cool!**

**My other fic, To Keep You Safe, updated this week as well. I'm pimpin' it out here, so run over, give it a read and leave me some lovin'. It's got lemons! ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**tHiRtEen**

**Chapter 20**

**JamesRamsey and Cullen818-rock on beta girls!**

**SM owns it. I just give 'em lemons on LOVE day! Crappy Valentines Day to all!**

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BPOV

_I'm about to do it, I'm about to do it!_ My inner virgin sang over and over.

Realizing she had lost the battle to preserve my purity, the gatekeeper slammed her etiquette book shut and stomped away. Hopefully for good, because I had spent the last three years in college listening to my classmates detail all kinds of kinkery, watching G-rated porn on the sly and imagining downright wicked things, and I was a little more than excited to now be getting the opportunity to try out a few of those things.

I managed to suppress the squeal that threatened to erupt, but not the tremors that ran through my body. My emotions were so mixed up I was sure I was giving Jasper a headache. Even though I was nervous, I didn't want him doubting my readiness to do this, so I took a couple of deep breaths and centered my focus on my vamp man and what he was currently doing to my body.

Were vampires related to octopuses, 'cause I was sure that Jasper had suddenly grown six new hands. His hands and lips were everywhere on me. He was kissing me, and then sucking at the skin on my neck; his hands were under my shirt, and then inside of my panties. He was teasing me…stroking me…plunging his fingers in and out of me, and we still hadn't even left the kitchen yet! But I needed more, so much more.

I needed to be naked and lying on some sort of horizontal surface, because if he kept up the pace he was going inside of my panties with his fingers, then I was going to be a gooey mess in a matter of seconds.

"More, I need more. Please," I begged.

"Baby, you can have anything you want," Jasper whispered against my ear before licking my ear lobe.

"Bed," I demanded in a half whisper, half mewl.

Yes, I mewled and then damn near fainted at how he rubbed my clit in just the right spot. From what I knew from Anatomy class, the entire clitoris is a very simple little flap of skin. I assumed my clit was just a sensitive as anybody else's, but I also knew that I had an extra extra sensitive spot, just to the right side and upward on the actual gland. How the hell he managed to find that spot with my clothes still on I'll never know. This man had talented fingers and I was eager to see what else he could do with them.

I also wanted to see what type of noises I could get him to make too. So, I pulled away-yes, I pulled away from those glorious fingers-and started walking backwards toward the bed. I figured that once we got naked, there would be no way to pry his fingers or his magic tongue away from my body.

Was it possible to have a twenty-four hour orgasm?

I mean, was it really really possible?

Hmmm….

I made a mental note to check that out once I got all vamped up and shit.

"Bella." He panted my name like a question, asking me if I were ready for what was about to happen.

"Yes," I answered, tugging at the hem of his grey tee shirt.

He raised his arms above his head and allowed me to push and pull his shirt off. I tossed it somewhere behind me and ran my hands up over his arms to his shoulders, and back down over his well defined abs. His nipples twitched, and I circled them both with the pads of my thumbs.

Jasper made a half moan, half whimper sound and I leaned forward to touch one with my tongue. He hissed at the contact and I felt his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer to him. I licked and sucked on one, enjoying the feel as it hardened and peaked in my mouth.

At the foot of the bed Jasper stopped me with a soft kiss that immediately turned into much more. The urgency of his lips and hands had me ripping at the rest of his clothes. I cursed the fact that he was wearing button fly jeans.

"Don't you ever wear these fucking jeans again," I barked at him while snatching at the buttons. I wanted to feel him; I needed the reassurance that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. Impatiently, I wiggled my hand down the front of his partially open jeans.

His eyes nearly bugged out as I stroked his massive erection. "Baby, slow down," he said, pulling my hand out of his pants.

Slow down? How the hell was I supposed to slow down? My body felt like it was about to spontaneously combust. I needed to feel him, all of him, at once. How ironic was it that even though his flesh was ice cold, he was the one who had set the fire burning in me?

He laughed. "I'm the one that's supposed to be leading this, remember?"

"Hurry, please," I begged.

I could feel his hands nudging my jeans down past my hips. He pushed me down on to the bed and knelt at my feet, removing my boots and pulling my jeans all the way off.

"No way, Imma take my time lovin' you right baby," he said, running his hands up my legs. He hooked his hands underneath my knees and lifted them, placing my feet flat on the mattress, before kneeling between my spread legs. "So, so beautiful…so wet," he licked me, and played with me with one finger, "…so good…"

It was like he was licking me for the first time. The very tip of his tongue touched my clit, slowly working the small nub back and forth. It was enough pressure to make me pant and squirm, but not enough to make me cum. He was purposely teasing me…getting me worked up. He hooked both of my legs over his shoulder, and gripped my ass with each of his hands, pulling me closer and holding me in place as he licked and sucked on my clit.

"Relax baby," he mumbled right before plunging his long as hell, magic tongue in me.

I gripped the hair at the back of his head, yanking on it as I bucked against his mouth. "Jasper, please, please…"

"What do you want baby?"

"Please, I want you inside me."

"Are you sure?" he asked, placing tiny kisses on my stomach.

He wasn't asking to tease me; he was once again asking to make sure I knew there was no turning back once he was inside of me. Good thing, because I didn't want anything else but for us to finalize what was going on between us.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Yes, yes."

He quickly pushed himself up off the bed and finished undressing, and then crawled back up the bed, caressing my skin with his hands and lips as he went.

"This has to go." He pulled my tank top, the last article of clothing I was wearing, off. His hands cupped my breasts and he gently took one nipple in his mouth as he toyed with the other. "God, I love these. They're so full, and round and…um…shit, just wonderful…"

"I love the way you touch me," I sighed, running my hands up and down his back as he nuzzled my breasts. "Please don't stop kissing me."

I felt his lips moving on the column of skin between my ear and collar bones. His erection was pressing against my stomach, and if I moved just right, he would be perfectly lined up at my entrance.

Nervously I shivered again. This was it. I was about to do it. _We_ were about to do it!

He wrapped my legs around his waist and I felt the tip of his cock probing me, seeking permission for entrance as he kissed me. I wiggled my butt a little, arching my back to bring him closer. He moved his hips, and I felt him slide further into me, shallow thrusting in and out just a little.

But it still wasn't enough. I needed to feel all of him inside me.

"Jasper," I whispered against his lips. "I...please..."

He laced his fingers through my mine with one hand, and with the other he slipped down my body, cupping my ass to hold me into place. "Hook your legs and hang on," he said, and plunged into me.

I knew that it was going to hurt, but shit, I didn't know that it was gonna feel like I was being split in two! I gasped, and popped up my shield.

"No, no no," Jasper said through his clenched teeth. "I wanna feel you; you are not allowed to hide from me Isabella." He released my hand and rested his weight on his forearms on either side of my head. "Look at me baby, look at me please." He caressed my cheeks and brushed the hair off my forehead with his fingers, all while pleading with me.

I didn't want to look at him because I didn't want him thinking that I didn't want this, him. I shook my head and felt the tears run down the sides of my eyes.

"Bella, I love you. But you have to take your shield down, or we can't do this. You have to let me in."

Of course, the 'in' he was talking about was not my body, because he was already inside of me. He wanted me to let him in emotionally. How he was holding himself so still, how he had so much self control, was beyond me. Instinctually, I knew that he needed to either move _with_ me, or move _out _of me. I didn't want him to leave me. I wanted, needed this connection with him.

"I love you Jasper," I said, my eyes still closed tightly.

"Bella, let me help you relax," he pleaded.

"No, I don't want any manufactured emotions."

"Baby, nothing between us is fake or manufactured. I love you more than life."

I felt him move inside me and I took a deep breath, willing my shield to lower and stay down. Jasper kept talking, quietly whispering in my ear how much he loved me, how happy he was to be with me, and how we would spend the rest of eternity loving each other and never be alone in life again. He relaxed me with his words, not his gift.

My breath hitched at the feeling of him moving in and out of me. I felt no pain, only pleasure as he worked me from the inside, circling his hips to hit all of the right spots. How was it that his cock felt so much longer, thicker and just damn harder now that it was inside of me?

"God, you feel so good…amazing…so tight...ugh…"

"Right…oh yeah…there," I whispered, tugging on his hair. I was sweating, and sliding against him, and we almost came apart. Pressing closer, I tighten my legs around his waist, digging my heels into his ass as he kept up the rhythmic movement, in and out, circle; circle, in and out again. "Harder!" I gripped his back with my fingers, scrapping my nails across his hard flesh.

The sensible side of me knew that he couldn't just slam into me like he wanted, like I now wanted him too, and I could tell that he was holding back on me. But I'd be damned every inch of him sliding in and out of me didn't feel like heaven. And hawt dayum, those were a lot of inches!

"You like that?" he asked, stroking my clit with his finger. "Is that it…right there?"

"Uh huh…yes…"

"Cum then, please baby; cum for me."

The combination of him whispering in my ear, stroking me with his finger and his hard long cock sliding in and out of me sent me over the edge. I was so very grateful that we were out in the middle of nowhere, because I screamed with my orgasm until my throat felt raw.

Jasper hooked my leg over his forearm, pumped three more times and he exploded.

"Are you okay?" he asked, peering down at me.

I nodded, not yet trusting my voice.

He collapsed on top of me, breathing hard. I welcomed his weight pressing me down, but I shifted slightly to the right so that he was no longer lying completely on my chest and lungs. Sometimes I think he forgot that I needed to breathe.

"Bella, if you're hurt you don't have to try to hide-"

I yawned and stretched underneath him. "Jasper, shut up and let me sleep."

**JPOV**

The human heart beats seventy times a minute. For the last hour I had been lying perfectly still listening to and counting Bella's heart beats while she slept—I needed to make sure that each beat was in place. If the steady tattooing of her heart was any indication that she was healthy, then I would be okay. Unfortunately, the only thing I could gauge from her heartbeat was that her heart was strong. I was still unsure about the rest of her.

Up until the moment I had broke her hymen, I thought that she was ready for me, for the physical side of our relationship. Everything pointed in the right direction, but as soon as I entered her wet heat, I felt her tense up and she popped up her shield. That damn shield was a sure sign that she was hurting and didn't want me to know.

And like the bastard that I am, I sweet talked her shield down and convinced her into letting me fuck her. I was the worst kind of bastard, because I was so consumed by my own lust, that I had hurt the one thing more important to me than my own life.

Afterwards, I had wanted to do a complete medical exam on her, to see for myself the extent of my bastard like qualities. But she had told me to shut up and promptly fell asleep. I wanted to believe that that was a good sign. If she could fall asleep so easily, then perhaps she really was okay with everything. Or maybe I was just trying to justify my own actions.

Her fingers twitched against my chest, and her breathing changed; a signal that she was waking up. I kissed her forehead and ran my hand up and down her back. If this was the last time she allowed me to touch her, then I wanted the feel of her soft skin to be the last thing I felt before I found a way to eliminate my own life.

She blinked sleepily, stretched and winced.

Guilt stabbed me in the heart. Yep, I would never touch her again.

"Bella, I know that I hurt you, and I just want you to know that I'll never ever touch you like that again. If you want to leave me, then I'll understand and I'll make sure that Aro, Alice and Edward will never touch one hair on your head, and…and…"

"Jasper, shut up," she told me for the second time. "God, you're so emo-y. I'm the newly deflowered virgin, aren't _I_ supposed to be the one crying and clinging to _you_?"

"But-"

She sat up, and the sheet fell away from her body. Bruises were all over her beautiful body, and my little inner Jasper was jumping up and down mad at what we had done to our Bella.

"I'm okay," she insisted with a light hearted smile on her face. "I'm better than okay. I feel like I'm glowing." She crawled over to me and sat in my lap, nuzzling her face in my neck and stroking my face with her hand. "Stop worrying so much my emo empath. Yes, I'm a little sore, and so what if I have a few bruises. If you were human, you'd have scratches all up and down your back now."

She had a point. At one point during our love making, I thought that she was gonna hurt herself with the way she was digging her nails into my skin. She had even almost bitten me!

"I don't like seeing these bruises," I said, running my hands up and down her thighs.

"Sex bruises are the best bruises babe," she simply said and kissed me.

I felt her tongue in my mouth and her hands were running down my chest. My dick hardened and Bella giggled, feeling my erection pressing against her ass. She moaned into my mouth, and moved to straddle me.

But I stopped her when I heard her stomach growl.

"You need to eat."

"What do you think I'm tryin' to do?" she asked, moving her hands lower. "I wanna suck your cock."

_Holy shit!_

"Say that again," I whispered.

She grinned.

I closed my eyes waiting for her to say it.

"I want to suck your _cock_," she said slowly, enunciating each word and paying special attention to the way she said cock, with a little kick to the 'k' at the end. "And then I want you to _fuck_ me." Again, she kicked out the 'k' and it sent shivers down my body.

_Get your shit together Whitlock_, I told myself. _Take care of your lady first!_

I shoved my hands into her hair and turned her so that I could kiss her. Her swollen lips moved urgently against my own, and I damn near lost my mind when she sucked on my bottom lip and grinded against me.

"Food first baby," I said, gently moving her off my lap, and down to the mattress. "I'll finish cooking for you, and then we'll talk some more about you sucking my cock."

I kissed her again before she could protest and then pulled my basketball shorts on.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Oh yeah baby, I promise."

X-X-X-X-X

"C'mon Bella," I said, linking my fingers through hers.

"Where are we going, Jasper?"

I had finished cooking for her and allowed her enough time to eat, while I brought in firewood and set up a little surprise for her outside the yurt in the meadow.

"Outside."

"It's like pitch black outside, and I'm not even dressed." She was wearing a tiny pair of navy blue boy shorts and her white tank top from before—no bra included.

"It's warm out," I said, licking my lips from the way her nipples were poking out at me. "And no one's gonna see you but me."

"How do you know it's warm enough for me outside, you run a steady temperature of zero degrees?"

"I am not zero degrees; I'm more like around 32 degrees."

"And you know this because?"

I rolled my eyes at her and bent down for her to climb on my back. "My dad _is_ a doctor!"

She laughed and wrapped her beautiful legs around my waist. "We're not going warp speed are we?"

"No, we're just going right outside the door." I squeezed her thighs, and I could feel her arousal against my back through my tee shirt. "Thinking dirty little thoughts Ms. Swan?" I asked.

"What, are you a mind reader now? How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"I can smell you, and I can feel your lust Bella," I reminded her.

"Oh yeah."

I walked slowly though the meadow toward the lit fire pit that I had set up. Bella shifted uncomfortably when she saw the mound of blankets and pillows beside the fire pit.

"We're sleeping outside?" she asked apprehensively.

"No, no. I thought that maybe you'd want to look at the stars for a while." I pointed to the telescope I had also set up.

Bella sighed a little in relief. It was a universally accepted principle that most girls—human or vampire- did not like to sleep or be anywhere near where bugs are.

Bella kissed my neck before hopping off my back. "Then this is a wonderful idea!" She grabbed up the package of marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate and began fixing her sweet treats, being careful not to drop her wooden skewers in the fire. "God, I love these things."

"The planets are aligned correctly tonight for you to be able to see Venus," I explained, adjusting the knobs on the telescope and making sure to line it up just right.

"Mmm…so good." She moaned around a mouth full of s'more.

My dick jumped at the sound of her moaning, and the sight of her pink tongue licking her lips did wonderful things to my insides. She caught me staring with my mouth open and winked at me.

"A little later on and this will be you baby," she whispered.

I palmed my dick through my basketball shorts to keep him from fighting his way out of confinement. She laughed and crawled over the blankets toward the telescope. I moved out of the way and pointed toward the sky in the general direction of where the planet could be found.

"Do you see it?" I asked.

"No, I don't think I'm looking in the right direction."

"Yes you are, just concentrate and block everything else out. It's the pale green spot." I tapped the barrel of the telescope over a bit. "Do you see it now?"

"Oh, there it is!" She yelled excitedly and clapped her hands.

I pointed out a few more areas of interest in the night sky, and when she got tired of looking through the telescope, she leaned back against me, and we reclined in the mound of pillows together. We talked about the possibility of deep space travel, the space/time continuum, and other cheesy nerd topics. It was nice just being together outside in the rare warm night, laughing and not thinking about what lay ahead of us.

"So, where are we gonna live afterwards?" Bella asked.

"Where ever you want to baby. Do you have a particular place in mind that you've always wanted to visit?"

She shook her head, the smell of her hair wafting around my nose. I inhaled the scent, holding it into my lungs before exhaling.

"It doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you," she said, playing with my fingers.

"I want you to feel free to go back to college, finish your degree."

"Maybe, but I think I may change my major."

"Why? What's wrong with forestry?"

"Well, I initially chose that major so that I could help fight deforestation and promote the keeping of our national parks clean and untouched."

"Okay, and?"

"Well, I can't very well protest commercial logging on Capitol Hill if I'm a vampire. It would draw too much attention to me."

"Yeah, but babe, the pen is mightier than the sword. Maybe you'll just have to find another way fight."

She shrugged, and snuggled deeper into the blanket that was covering us. "Perhaps. Or maybe I'll become one of those Harlequin romance writers."

"Oh?"

She wiggled around again when she felt my erection poking her in the back. "Yeah, those stories are so cheesy sometimes." I felt her hand slip under the leg of my shorts and she stroked my cock.

I gasped and shifted so that she had better access to her new friend. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of reading any of those."

"You're not missing much. It's basically porn dressed up in corny words."

"Oh yeah?"

"Hmm…" She circled the head of my cock with her finger, spreading the pre-cum around. "Like what I'm doing here would be described as 'stroking his long shaft of pleasure'." She giggled.

I slipped my hands down her body and was shocked to find out that she had no panties on. How the hell had she done that without me knowing? Oh right, I had pussy on the brain, and that made me practically stupid with lust. Okay, it made me completely stupid with lust.

Bella laughed at me and turned around to straddle my lap.

"So um, what would this be described as?" I asked, running a finger up and down her slit.

Her head fell down to my shoulder and she moaned. "I think that would be something like, 'testing the depths of her moist waters'. But, I hate that word 'moist'."

"Appropriate sometimes, don't you think?" I asked, still stroking her swollen clit. My dick was so hard it felt like I was going cross-eyed.

"Off, these need to come off," she said, tugging on my shorts.

I lifted my hips in order for her to pull my shorts down. But instead of her sitting back across my lap, she moved lower on me, stroking my cock in her hands.

"I wanna try this, but you gotta stay completely still. Okay?" she said, pumping me.

As bad as I wanted to shove my cock down her throat, I didn't know if that was a good idea. I wasn't sure how long my control would last before the need to move took over. I had succeeded in not losing my shit earlier when I was inside of her, but I didn't know how much I could take with it being her mouth on me.

"Bella, I don't know if this is a good idea."

"I trust you, Jasper. If it gets to be too much, just let me know."

She didn't give me a chance to protest before I felt her mouth on me.

Bella licked me from the base of my cock to the head before completely enveloping me. She took her time licking, teasing and sucking. I ground my hips into the blanket covered ground, trying to focus on not thrusting my hips upward.

I chanced a glance down at her and nearly came apart from how beautiful she looked sucking on me, cheeks hollowed out and massaging my balls like that. She used her teeth on the upstroke, and then wrapped her pink tongue around the head, swirling it around before plunging back down. Where the hell did she learn to do that?

But when she dug her tiny fingers into my hips and pulled me forward, taking me deeper into her mouth, sucking harder than before, I knew that I had to stop her before I accidentally killed her.

"Bella," I panted. "Stop, you gotta stop baby…"

But Bella was not listening to anything I had to say, and hummed around my cock. I shoved my hands in my hair and shouted out all kinds of expletives before reaching down and grabbing her.

I pulled her up to my lap. "I know you're sore baby, but I've got to—"

"It's okay. I'm okay," she said, one hand on my cock and moving me toward her entrance. "Show me where…and how."

I grabbed her ass as she held me steady, and I lowered her down and over me. Both of our heads fell back as the sensation, and I waited a moment for Bella to adjust to my size. She nodded when she was ready, and I slowly moved her up and down on my cock, whispering instructions on how she could use her hips and knees to set her own pace.

Bella seemed to catch onto the rhythm pretty fast, but I kept my hands on her ass, simply because I liked feeling her lower cheeks. I could see her tits bouncing under her tank, and I released one of her ass cheeks to pull the shirt off. She pushed me back into the pillows and leaned over me, far enough for me to latch onto one of her tits. At the feeling of me sucking on her nipple, she lost all sense of rhythm.

We compromised. She held her breast to my mouth as I used my hands to guide her back on beat. Team work is important, people.

"God Jasper…cock…feels…so good inside…me…" she panted, arching her back.

"Oh…fuckin' hell…"

"Can you…go deeper…please?"

I rolled her over onto her back and still being careful with her, pounded into her, grinding my hips into hers. "Oh…yeah…" I held myself deep inside her, pushing gently against her hips with mine.

"So good…"

She screamed my name and clung to me when my dick hit her at the right angle and depth. Her pussy tightened around my cock and I knew she was close, so I pulled her leg over my shoulder and thrust again, making sure to rub my dick over the spot inside of her I knew would send her over the edge.

She bucked her back and came hard, yanking on my hair, screaming in my ear and racking her nails across my back. Seeing her explode like that set off a chain reaction; I pumped harder into her and felt my own dam burst, long and hard.

"Are you oaky?" she asked me, running her hands up and down my back.

Hey, wasn't that my line? I was supposed to be asking _her_ that.

I rose up a little and looked down at her. She had the smuggest expression on her face, and I kissed it right off.

"Yeah, you?" I asked.

She nodded. "Better than okay." I moved in order to pull out of her, but she stopped me, tightening her legs around my waist. "Just let me feel you for a while, please."

I nodded and rolled over so that she was lying on top of me. I tucked one arm behind my head, and the other I gripped her ass, running my hand around in circles on one of her perfectly half moon shaped cheeks.

I stared up at the night sky.

Life was perfect; perfect indeed.

* * *

**AN: Sooooo, what do ya think?**

**The next chapter's a little steamy too. It's currently in the hands of my very capable betas.**

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	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

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**BPOV**

"Hi," Jasper said.

"Hi," I said softly.

We stared at each other for a moment, neither one of us saying anything. I noticed how positively sinful he looked standing there in his khaki shorts and white button down shirt, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with how much I loved him. He dropped his eyes down to the banister that he was holding onto, tracing the wood with his finger, and I briefly looked down at the book in my lap, struggling to lower my shield.

The silence between us was not uncomfortable, but it wasn't easy either. This man had taken my virginity, I had been all sorts of naked in front of him, he had had his mouth on parts of me that had never been exposed to the light of day, we had even made love twice under the stars last night, and now I was afraid to even look at him.

What the hell was wrong with me? This morning I had politely but firmly rebuffed his advances and had asked him for a few hours of solitude in order to get my mind right. I felt like shit seeing the hurt expression on his face, but I had retreated to the loft, where I popped up my shield anyway.

I was afraid, terrified actually, that he would vanish into thin air like a dream when waking up, and I would be left with nothing but an empty, hollow feeling. I was also struggling with feeling unworthy, and I didn't want to burden Jasper with my fears. I already knew what his response would be; he would reassure me that he thought I was beautiful, he loved me and those feelings would never change. He would also go on about how there was nothing to fear with the upcoming battle, and we would all be safe.

It was always nice to hear the words, but I wanted to feel them for myself for a change.

Jasper took a step forward, and then back. Almost as if he was afraid to approach me. "Bella, did I do something wrong?"

And then, I realized that sitting here, alone and wallowing in unnecessary worry and grief, was stupid. Why was I hurting Jasper with my silence? We could be doing other things with our time together- like humping each other out of our minds -instead of circling each other like strangers.

I held my arms out to him and he ran to me, falling onto the leather chaise lounge and scooping me up in his arms. "No, no baby. Not at all," I said, hugging him tighter. "I'm sorry for shutting you out."

"Tell me what's wrong. Please."

I pulled back a little to look up at him. "I'm just worrying over stupid stuff." I blinked, and the tears I was holding back slipped down my cheeks.

Jasper cradled my face in his hands and kissed my tears away. "Is it me, are you tired of me? Do you want me to go? Or are you unhappy being here? We can go back home to the others. Tell me, whatever it is that you want, and I'll give it to you."

"No, it's not you, Jasper. You're perfect, this place is perfect and I love being here with you."

"But?"

"But I don't want it to end. I'm happy, and I'm just freaking out about it I guess."

He pressed his forehead against mine and kissed my nose. "I don't like to see you sad."

"I'm not, I promise," I said, trying my best to reassure him. "You make me so happy."

He shifted his body so that he was lying along side of me on the lounge. I turned to face him, snuggling against his chest.

"I have something for you," Jasper said.

"You don't have to give me anything else, Jasper."

He kissed me quickly. "Hold that thought." He was gone in a flash and then back before I could even tell that he was gone. "Open it." He dropped a small flat box on my lap.

"Jasper-"

He rolled his eyes. "Just open it, Bella."

I tore into the small package. "Notebooks?" I asked, picking up the package of spiral, wide rule notebooks like the ones I used for my classes.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to share every emotion or thought with me. I like feeling what you feel, but at the same time, I know that everyone needs a little bit of privacy too. So when you want to talk to me, I'm always gonna be here to listen. And, if you don't want to talk, then you can write it down."

"And the number 2 pencils?"

He smiled brightly at me, pushing the hair off my forehead with a finger. "Well, you _are_ gonna be an out of control vamp one day pretty soon, and cleaning up ink is a helluva lot harder than just tossing out crushed pencils."

I dropped the package to the floor and threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, I love it, and I love you more and more each day."

"I figured that once you start to fill them up with your words, we can have 'em bound in leather to preserve 'em. You'll be able to reread your human thoughts as well as your newborn ones."

"That's an excellent idea."

I tore the cellophane wrapping off the bound notebooks, took one of the pencils and wrote the date and time on the first page. Next, I wrote the words '_Bella loves Jasper'_ underneath. And because my vamp man was just as cheesy as I was, he took the pencil from me and wrote, _'Jasper loves Bella' _on the next line.

X-X-X-X

"What do you want to do today?" he asked, running his fingers up and down my arm.

I played with the tab on the zipper of his shorts. "I wanna stay right here with you, just like this." I sighed in relief when I slipped my hand inside and discovered that he wasn't wearing any underwear.

He groaned, thrusting into my hand. "Like this…" he ran his hand underneath my skirt and tugged my panties aside before pushing himself inside of me "…or just like this?"

The sight of him poised above me and the sensation of him completely filling me took my breath away. He waited until I was comfortable before moving, thrusting slowly.

"Yeah… just like that…"

X-X-X-X

"I don't know about this Jasper," I said, standing as close to the edge of the cliff as I could comfortably get without feeling like I was falling over.

After spending the morning cuddling and making love, my entire body was deliciously sore. Jasper had attempted to massage some of the kinks out of my muscles, but that only led to more naked time and that put us in danger of missing our appointment. My vamp man then ordered me to get dressed, and we had spent the last hour hiking up the side of the mountain to the lookout point. Actually, Jasper did the hiking; I just rode along on his back.

"You said that you wanted to go cliff diving."

I frowned. "When did I say that and why didn't you choose to have my head examined instead?"

"Number eleven on your list, and I like your head just the way it is, loose screws and all," he said and kissed my forehead. "Besides, this is much safer than actual cliff diving. I don't think I could stand to see you just jump off a cliff like that dumb chick in that movie you made me watch the other night."

"She wasn't dumb, she was hurting 'cause he left."

"She was dumb," he insisted. "Would you have done something like that if I just up and left?"

I thought for second and smiled up at him. "Nah, I would just go find me another vamp man to sex me up."

He looked at me with narrowed eyes and growled. "Watch it," he warned.

I giggled and hooked my arms around his neck. "But you're not gonna leave me for some bonehead reason like that anyway, right?"

He kissed me softly, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth before releasing me. "Baby, I ain't leavin' you for no reason, 'cause where I go, you go. Got it?"

"You bet your sweet ass," I said, squeezing that very part of his anatomy.

"Good. Now, are you ready to do this?"

"Aye, aye Captain."

He tugged on the five point harness and checked the connections from the harness to the glider. While I had been moping around and silently freaking out in the yurt loft, Jasper had scaled the mountain to set up my next adventure. The fact that he was a licensed hang glider had never come up until we were at the precipice of the mountain.

"Are you sure that this is gonna hold me?" I asked, tugging on the harness.

Jasper slipped the helmet down over my head and buckled the strap underneath my chin.

He took my sunglasses off and looked into my eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Apparently, the optimal time to go hang gliding was when it was warm and sunny outside. It had something to do with warm rising air currents called thermals. I tilted my head back and looked up at his sparkling face. "Yes, of course I do."

"Then stop worrying. I would never let anything happen to you."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, what do I do first?"

He replaced my sunglasses with a pair of goggles and rechecked my harness and the emergency parachute in my backpack. "Just keep pace with me until we get to the edge of the cliff, and then sit back and relax."

"That's a contradiction in terms don't ya think, 'edge of cliff' and 'relax'?"

He gazed at the variometer and stuffed it in his flight jacket pocket. "You're gonna love this, I promise."

We stood far enough back from the cliff, counted to ten and Jasper took off at a running pace slightly faster than a normal human would run. I squeezed my eyes shut and shrieked with a nervous laugh as soon as I felt my feet leave the ground.

"Open your eyes baby!" Jasper shouted, laughing.

I gripped the glider bar in my hands and shook my head.

"C'mon, it's beautiful up here!"

I didn't know how high up we were, but Jasper had said we could go thousands of feet into the air and the farthest anyone had ever glided was over four hundred miles. It felt like my heart was beating in my ears, and my stomach was fluttering with butterflies.

Slowly, I cracked open one eye and looked ahead of us.

"Just relax," Jasper said, covering my hand on the bar with his. "Feel the wind and sun on your face. Be assured that I'm right here beside you, and that nothing is going to happen to you."

I opened the other eye and looked at his smiling face.

"That's the balls of steel Bella I know!" He laughed. "Look down, you can see Muncho Lake from up here," he said, pointing toward the green hued lake.

I squealed. "It's so much prettier from up here!"

I was glad that Jasper had insisted on me bringing my camera, because I wanted to remember this for the rest of my life. He slipped his arm around me, holding me close to the bar and to his body while I snapped a few pictures of the land underneath us.

"See, I told you that you'd like it."

"No, I love it!"

We circled the lake and then had to find another air current to highjack. Jasper pointed out the famous hot springs, a few of the mountain ranges and camp grounds. It was peaceful, and simply beautiful.

"Remember what I said about steering?"

I nodded. "You said that you turn your body toward the direction you want to go."

"Left is the Cullen house; right, is the meadow."

"You want me to steer?" I asked.

"Only if you want to. We could fly over the Cullen's before heading back to the yurt."

I gripped the bar and shifted my weight to the left. The glider responded slowly, turning in a wide arch. Jasper checked the variometer again and decreased our altitude. Of course, we were too high up for me to actually make out anything but the shape of the house, but just seeing it made me feel a little closer to home and my new family.

I let Jasper take over the steering again, and we flew low, circling over the yurt a couple of times before landing in the meadow near the fire pit. I undid the harness and shrugged out of the flight jacket before launching myself at my mate. He easily caught me in his arms and I hooked my legs around his waist as he spun me around.

"That was amazing!"

"I'm glad that you liked it." He kissed me quickly and set me on my feet. "C'mon, let's go get changed."

"Changed? What are we doing now?"

"Hot Springs time!" He yelled, dragging me behind him.

X-X-X-X

There was no textbook definition for a hot springs, but because I used to be a forestry student, I knew that it was a pool of water, geothermally heated from the Earth's crust. There were hot springs located all over the Earth, but I had never seen nor heard of one quite like the one on the Cullen's property.

The Cullen hot spring was a part of the chain from the Liard River Hot Springs that was located a few miles down the road, but what made this one different than all of the rest was that it had a water fall with it. The hot spring was located at the base of the mountain, and Jasper explained to me that a few decades ago, probably due to erosion, a small trickle of water broke free from between the rock and dirt higher up the side of the mountain. Over time, the small trickle of water soon became a waterfall.

The water from the mountain was ice cold, but the water from the hot spring was well, really hot. Mixed together, the two waters made the pool temperature slightly above 98 degrees—just perfect for relaxing in.

"The last time I was here, the water from the mountain resembled water from a faucet or spigot. Now, it's like a mini Niagara," Jasper said.

"I don't think it's quite that forceful J," I said, sticking my foot in the water to test the temperature.

"Nah, but it sure is a helluva lot more than it used to be." He held my hand while I stepped off the rocks and down into the pool.

"How deep is it?" I dropped my towel on the wood platform that Esme had obviously had constructed there. The pool was surrounded by jagged rocks and the small deck was just right for either sunbathing or just sitting by the natural pool.

I turned back around when Jasper didn't answer me. He was looking at me with an odd mixture of love and lust on his face. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He shook his head and continued down into the water. "Um, it's probably deeper than the last time I was here, but I imagine ten or fifteen feet."

I ran my hands through my hair, twisting it up and into a low knot at the base of my neck. When I looked back over my shoulder, Jasper was standing still as a statue with that look on his face again. I splashed water at him.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't say anything.

I looked around me, thinking that something or someone was watching us and that Jasper was standing still preparing to pounce on them.

"Jasper?" I whispered nervously.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way around to face him. "I feel like I need to warn you that from here on out, I'm gonna be a tad bit jealous, possessive and outrageously horny." His voice was low and husky when he spoke. It sent chills down my spine. "There will be times when I need you so bad it will make me absolutely crazy if I can't have you when and where I want. And at those times, I'm gonna need you to immediately either get on your knees or on your back to please me. I promise to not ever hurt you, and I swear you'll always be satisfied and loved. Are you good with that?"

I swallowed hard and nodded.

"Say it Isabella," he said in a low snarl. "Tell me that you belong to me and only me, and that you'll always be there for me when I need you."

"I'm yours, now and forever," I squeaked. I cleared my throat. "And whatever you need, I'll give it to you."

He pressed his lips against my temple and I shivered at the sensation of his cold lips against my hot skin.

"Seeing you standing here in this white bikini, I can see the outline of the little strip of hair on your pussy and the way your nipples are poking out at me makes me hard as fuck."

Jasper lightly ran his fingers up and down my arms, barely touching me and at the same time, lighting a fire deep inside of me.

"See that big rock over there?" He gestured to a large boulder jutting out into the pool. "Right now I wanna fuck you against that rock. I wanna slam my dick so far deep inside of you until you feel it in your mouth, and I wanna watch as I move it in and out of your tight little pussy."

I licked my lips, remembering how his cock had tasted on my tongue the night before.

He continued whispering in my ear. "You have a sensitive spot on the right side of your clit that, when I either stroke it or suck it, makes you pant and groan and your pussy walls clench down on my tongue or finger or my dick. I can feel those little ridges on your walls, and I wanna fuck each one."

Was that me moaning at his words?

"Right before you cum, your little nose scrunches up, your forehead wrinkles and I swear to God that your eyes roll back in your head. I can practically taste your juice running down my throat right now."

My chest felt tight, almost like I couldn't breathe.

He ran his nose up and down my cheek. "But you're too sore for my hard dick right now. Maybe later on tonight," he mused.

"Jasper…"

"The very first thing I'm gonna do to you when I change you is fuck you the way I want. I'm gonna drill so hard and fast and deep into you. You're gonna ride my dick, and I'm gonna finger fuck your clit and suck on your tits for days, Isabella. Days!"

My girly parts exploded.

He hadn't even touched more than my arms with his fingertips and his nose to my cheek, and I panted and moaned as I came apart from listening to his words. Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and held me upright as I rode out my orgasm.

Surprisingly I was not embarrassed by my reaction.

"Damn," I panted. "You're good."

X-X-X-X

I yawned and stretched, popping my ankle and wrist bones with the motion. Jasper was half lying, half reclining against one of the posters at the foot of the bed, a sketch pad in his hand. It was dark inside the yurt, and when my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw that it was snowing outside.

"It's snowing," I remarked.

"Yeah, it has been all morning."

"What time is it?"

He tossed the sketch pad down and crawled up the bed to kiss me, slipping his sweet tongue inside my mouth. I stroked his tongue with my own, greedily sucking on it and not caring about my morning breath. If he didn't, why should I?

"It's almost noon."

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked when he pulled away.

"You needed to rest."

He had said the same thing last night when we had gotten back to the yurt from the hot springs. I had tried to seduce him into giving me another orgasm, but he firmly refused saying that he wanted my body to rest and recoup. So he cooked me dinner and then tucked me into bed, reading to me until I fell asleep.

I could tell by the expression on his face that he was deep in one of his moods. But I wouldn't know which one until I tested him out first.

I ran my hands up his chest and hooked my legs around his waist, grinding up against him. "Well I'm fully rested now."

"Uh huh." He kissed my cheek before unhooking my legs. "You go shower, and I'll go fix your lunch."

Mood check: he was feeling overprotective.

He moved away from me and into the kitchen, leaving me staring at his naked back and the pants hanging low off his hips.

"Jasper."

"Yeah babe?" He asked, removing items from the refrigerator.

"Is something wrong?" I stood at the threshold of the kitchen in nothing but his white button down shirt and a tiny pair of panties, and he didn't even look my way.

You have got to be kidding me!

With his head still inside of the refrigerator, he finally turned and looked at me, eyeing me from my toes to the top of my head. "Of course not, why?"

I pushed myself up onto the granite countertop, shifting uncomfortably at the cold temperature against my naked thighs. Funny, I loved the way Jasper's cold body felt against me, but not the countertop.

"You just seem…standoffish."

He moved to stand between my legs, running his hands up and down my outer thighs. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be. I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine Jasper," I argued.

"I'm a lot to handle baby. My dick is pretty big, and I just don't want to wear you out too fast," he said with a smug look on his face.

I laughed. "God, does your ego even fit inside of this yurt?"

He grinned before kissing my chin. "Nope. And my name's not God, it's Jasper. You were screaming it the other night, remember?"

I rested my elbows on his shoulders and played with his hair, hooking my legs around his waist. "Well, I would like to be screaming it now."

"First you shower, then you eat and we'll talk about it."

"Talk about it?" I asked in disbelief. "You know, all of that stuff you said yesterday applies to me too."

He nodded. "Yep, but you're not a vamp yet, and until I change you, human rules apply. We—I—have to be careful with you at all times. Got it?"

I rolled my eyes. "I guess so."

He lifted me off the counter and set me back on my feet with a little shove in the direction of the bathroom. "Go shower woman."

I stomped off, pouting. What gave him the right to deny me, when not twenty-four hours ago, he all but demanded that I comply with him and his needs? I adjusted the water temperature and stepped inside of the tiled shower.

It wasn't as big as the shower back at the Cullen mansion, but it was still big enough for two. I scrubbed my scalp, working the shampoo through my hair and contemplated my options.

One, I could teach Jasper a lesson in give and take by refusing to share my goodies with him for the rest of the time we were here. That would surly drive him crazy with lust. But, then again, it would drive me crazy as well.

Two, I could go jump him, tie him up and have my wicked way with him. Yeah right! How do you tie a vampire up?

Or three, I could take care of business for myself. He would no doubt smell and feel my lust, and come running to investigate. If he thought that he could just get me worked up any time he wanted and make my panties explode, then I could do the same to him.

Men masturbated in shower all the time, right? Granted, it had to be a little bit easier for them to do it, since their hardware was down front and sticking out all the time, but I digress.

I perched my butt on the edge of the tile bench and propped one leg up against the soap dish, and the other on the small low hanging towel bar. I had only ever done this once before, but I knew enough about it to not try to test my balance on a slippery surface at the same time.

Nervously –and I didn't know why I was so nervous, I just was—I slipped my hand down, sliding down through my slick folds, and touched myself. Granted, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so I just closed my eyes and pictured Jasper doing it.

After being accustomed to cold experienced fingers fondling my sensitive parts, at first it just felt wrong to have warm fingers fumbling around. But the part of me that felt something was off was just my mind over thinking things, because my body instantly responded. I touched my clit and nearly fell off the damn bench with how sensitive it was.

I trembled a little with how completely aroused I was just by touching myself. _No wonder Jasper wants to touch me like this all the time,_ I thought. I panted and struggled to catch my breath as I circled and rubbed the small nub. Just as my head lolled back against the side of the shower, the glass door opened.

Jasper stood there, mouth open and eyes black as sin, staring at me. I didn't falter, but kept right on rubbing away.

Wordlessly, his hands moved to the button and zipper of his own pants, pushing them down his hips and kicking his clothes behind him. He didn't have any underwear on, and his rock hard erection sprang forward, tip glistening with his pre-cum. He stepped inside the shower, hand on his cock, and closed the door behind him.

I didn't know what to expect. Was he going to remove my hands and take over, or was he going to push himself inside of me and fuck me against the tiled wall?

No, he didn't do either of those things.

He stood over me and leaned against the wall behind me on one forearm, his eyes never leaving my fingers while I worked myself; while he stroked and pumped his own erection.

Seeing him stroke himself sent all kinds of tingling feelings through me. My fingers slowed down because I wanted to reach out and touch him.

"Don't you dare stop," he ordered, his voice tight with lust.

"Jasper…"

"I wanna see you fuck yourself." He stroked himself as he talked, up and down, and then circling the head with his thumb. "God…so fuckin'…beautiful…"

I felt that familiar feeling deep in the pit of my stomach as I continued fingering myself. I closed my eyes, still imaging that it was Jasper's fingers on and in me. "Gonna cum…"

"Hold it, just hold it until I tell you to cum," he commanded. "Look at me!"

I looked up at him. He was furiously pumping himself and looking at him work himself over, I didn't know how long I could last. It was one of the sexiest things I had ever seen.

"Put your fingers inside of yourself," he said.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my butt muscles as I slid a finger inside of my pussy. My legs were shaking from the way they were being held up and my belly was quivering with the need for release as I thrust my finger in and out, plunging deeper each time.

"Please…" I begged. "I want…you to… cum on me."

"Oh…fuck…"

"Cum…on me…cum…on me…" I chanted.

We came at the same time, my fingers digging into his hip as I held onto him for dear life. Jasper shot streams of his venom laced semen all over my chest, breasts and stomach, the water from the shower immediately washing it away and down the drain.

Jasper collapsed onto the floor of the shower at my feet, laying his head in my lap. "That was so fuckin' hawt!" He took my fingers and shoved them in his mouth, sucking my arousal off.

I fell back against the wall. "You're tellin' me."

X-X-X-X

"This is not gonna work," Jasper said.

"Of course it will. What makes you think that it won't?"

"'Cause I've read the entire dictionary like five times B, in six different languages."

"Just because you think you know everything, doesn't mean that you do," I pointed out as I counted out my seven letter tiles and set them up on my little wood rack. We were getting ready to play naked Scrabble.

"Well I can guarantee you that you will not win this game," he said smugly.

"It's not about winning. We're bonding."

He leaned across the table, tipped my chin up and kissed me softly. "Tell me what the rules are again."

I pushed him away. "You're gonna make me forget if you keep doing that."

He laughed. "See, I already win."

"Alright, rule number one is no touching until it's time to ante up."

He leaned back into the chair like bar stool he was sitting in, and draped an arm over the back. I could feel my entire naked body blushing under his gaze, and I suddenly wished that I hadn't just made up that rule.

"Okay, rule number two?"

"For every ten points scored over your opponents current total, the point leader gets ten seconds of kissing, groping, fondling, sucking, licking or—"

"Fucking?"

"No, that's the grand prize."

He laughed, shaking his head. "My, my Ms. Swan, what a dirty mind you have."

"That's Mrs. Whitlock to you."

His eyes got big, and he was on me faster than I could blink, pushing me back up against the refrigerator. He had my legs around his waist, his hands on my butt and I could feel his erection poking against my stomach. "Say it again. Say that you'll be Mrs. Whitlock."

"Jasper, let me go." I squirmed around in his arms, laughing.

"Say it again, and then I'm gonna fuck you against this refrigerator."

I cupped his face in between my hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You haven't asked me."

"What?"

"You have not asked me to be Mrs. Whitlock."

He looked confused for a moment and then shook his head. "Marry me?"

I kissed him again and wiggled out of his arms. "No."

"No?" He asked, clearly offended.

"No." I crawled back up onto the chair bar stool and rearranged my letter tiles. "C'mon, let's play."

"Wait a second. I ask you to marry me, and you say 'no'?"

"Jasper, you know that I'm not a flowers kind of girl. But at the same time, I don't want to be proposed to while we're naked and about to play a game of Scrabble."

"But—"

"No baby, this is not the right time for us to be getting married. We've got too much ahead of us. We talked about this already."

He mumbled something under his breath, snapped his jaw shut and stomped back over to his side of the counter, throwing himself onto his stool. I allowed him to pout for a moment before I sent him all of the love I had in my heart for him.

"One day?" he asked, hopeful.

His hair flopped in his eyes and I reached over to push it back, stroking his cheek. "Definitely," I confirmed.

He smiled. "Well okay then. Let's play."

We were an hour into the game and I was losing badly. I kept telling myself it didn't matter who won, it was just a game and we were bonding. But I've always been a sore loser, and it seemed like Jasper was making a special effort to rub in the fact that he was winning.

"Exiguous?" I asked.

"You can look it up if you like, but it means scanty or meager." He smirked.

He was goading me. He knew, that I knew, not to doubt him anymore. I had looked up the first ten obscure words he had pulled out of his mega brain, only to be embarrassed when I discovered that they were in fact words. His reward was not really my punishment, but I did want to wipe the smile off his face.

"Shut up," I said, and began throwing the last of my tiles into the little black velvet bag.

"Ah babe, I know it sucks to lose—wait a sec, no, I don't know how it feels to lose. I've never experienced that before."

I threw the rest of the tiles at him, which he easily deflected.

"Careful babe, you could put my eye out with one of those!" He laughed.

I yanked my tee shirt off the bed and pulled it on over my head. "Bite me!"

"Oh I intend to." He shot off the stool and grabbed me from behind, clamping his lip covered teeth into the skin of my neck. "Right here." He kissed the area where he had mock bitten me. "I'm gonna bite you right here, and I'm gonna suck your blood and make you mine for eternity."

I shivered at his words. "When?"

He _tisked_, moving his hands underneath my shirt to cup my breasts. "I'm not telling," he sang, pinching my nipples.

I arched my back, wiggling against his erection, and moved my head to the side, offering him more skin to suck. "Jasper…"

"Hmm…I think it's time to reap my reward for winning naked Scrabble."

"Umm…"

He pulled my tee shirt off and tossed it aside before pushing me down to the bed on my knees. "Such a delectable little ass," he said, lightly slapping and rubbing my butt.

I felt his cold lips moving up my spine and I shivered again. Jasper laughed at my reaction as he stroked my hips, running one hand around and across my stomach.

"I bet you're already wet for me."

Putting on a brave face, because I knew what was about to happen but I was still nervous about the _way_ it was going to happen, I looked back over my shoulder at him. "I'm always wet for you baby."

He pushed my legs apart. "Well let's just make sure." He ran his fingers up and down between the crease of my thigh and my pussy, teasing me.

I moved my hips, trying to encourage him to move his hands where I wanted them. "Jasper."

"So eager to have my cock, baby?"

One hand pinched my nipple, and the other ghosted over my lower lips, close but still not where or how I wanted him touching me.

"Tell me where you want me to put my hands."

"On me…in me. Touch my pussy, Jasper."

"I love it when you say that word," he whispered in my ear, running his tongue along the outer shell of my ear, and his fingers up and down my slit. "Yeah, you're dripping for me."

As much as I wanted to be brave, I fell apart as soon as I felt his finger slip inside me, thrusting slowly. This man had the ability to make me mad as hell and yelling one second, and panting and moaning like a bitch in heat the next.

Slowly, while still rubbing my clit and thrusting his finger in me, he pushed me down to the mattress on all fours. And because Jasper knew that I loved it when he detailed what he was going to do to me, he spoke directly in my ear, working his fingers to emphasize his points.

"Bella, your pussy is begging for my cock, so I'm gonna give it to you slowly. I don't want to scare you, but I'm gonna be deeper inside you than I've ever been, so you need to relax and let me take care of what you need. Okay?"

For the first time in my life, the ability to speak eluded me, so I nodded.

He removed his finger and replaced it with the tip of his cock, teasing and probing me. He rubbed himself up and down my pussy, coating his massive cock with my arousal.

"So wet. You feel that baby? You feel how hard my cock is for you? You do this to me Bella, only you."

I groaned and dropped my head to the mattress while pushing my ass back up against him. "I need you…want you…please…"

And inch by delicious inch he filled me, holding my hips steady when I tried to move. "Not yet baby, just feel me, feel _all_ of me."

"Holy shit, Jasper…you…gotta move…"

He chuckled. "Look up baby. See that mirror over there?"

My head felt like it weighed ten pounds, but I lifted it anyway to see a floor length mirror on the opposite side of the bed. Where the hell had that come from? It was positioned perfectly for me to see Jasper standing behind me, hands on my hips and ready to hopefully fuck the living day lights out of me.

Up until this point he had been so loving and careful with me, but the way he was looking at me through the mirror suggested that this was not going to be one of those slow love making sessions no matter how hard he tried to restrain himself.

He knew it, and I knew it.

"Oh God…" I groaned.

"Jasper. It's 'oh Jasper'," he corrected and withdrew his hips before slamming into me.

"Fuck!" I gripped the sheets in my hands and pushed back into him.

"You like that baby?"

"Yes, hell yes!"

He pounded into me, and the wet, sucking sound of his cock going in and out of me coupled with the feel of his balls slapping against my ass filled the yurt. In the mirror could see that although his face was scrunched up in concentration, his eyes were zoned in on his dick and my pussy. He was doing all that he could to make me cum and to not kill me.

It was so fucking hot.

He leaned forward, wrapped his hand in my hair and yanked my head back. "Look at you…so fuckin' beautiful with my dick inside of you."

"You've been…holding…out on…me," I accused, meeting him thrust for thrust.

He chuckled, still slamming into me. "Never...never again."

"Harder!" I begged, even though I knew that it wasn't possible as long as I was human. He was already pushing his limit, and I didn't want him to lose control and then blame himself for hurting me.

"Look at your tits bouncing around like that. Grab your tits for me baby."

I leaned on one elbow and grabbed my breasts with the other hand.

"Yeah, rub it good baby, now flick your tit…yeah…so good."

"Jasper…make me…cum…"

He released my hair and slipped his fingers down to my clit, rubbing furiously. "Cum on me Bella…cum on baby…please…"

Every nerve ending in my body suddenly felt like I was being electrocuted. I screamed a string of unintelligible words as I came.

Jasper thrust himself to the root twice more and he came as well, yelling louder than I had ever heard him yell before.

"Fuck, I think my balls exploded," Jasper said a few minutes later.

He crawled across the bed to lie beside me, wrapping the sheets and comforter around me. I snuggled against him and ran my hand down his body to check.

"Nope, they're still intact."

He made a sound, almost like a giggle, and laced his fingers through mine. "Go to sleep."

I stretched and burrowed further down into the blankets. "What are we gonna do tomorrow?

Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew that he was grinning. "More naked Scrabble."

**JPOV**

My human mate was going to kill me. I would go down in history as the only vampire killed from being sexually over worked. If she was like this while she was still warm blooded, what the hell would she be like when I finally changed her?

My earlier images of a sex craved Bella returned. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was going to eat me alive. And I was anxiously waiting for it.

I swear to God that it felt like my balls had exploded when I came. And of course, the little minx had to go and check. Her little impromptu exam only served to make my dick hard as a rock…again. But she needed to rest, and I needed to feed.

I hadn't been hunting since the day we had gotten to the yurt, and I was walking a fine line between being in control and losing it completely. If we were going to go another round of naked Scrabble, then I would have to hunt immediately.

I waited until she was deep in sleep before easing out of the bed and pulling my clothes on. Even though I knew that she probably wouldn't wake up, I still scribbled a little note to tell her where I had gone. I hadn't planned on staying out too long, but I didn't want her to worry in case she did wake up.

She whispered my name as I pressed a kiss on her forehead, and I almost decided to forego my hunt. But no, I needed to make sure that she was safe, and the only way to do that was to keep myself nourished.

As soon as I pulled open the door of the yurt, I smelled it.

Volturi.

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**AN: Raise your hand if you're up for some naked Scrabble with Jasper! **

**Review, review, review!**

**I've never been hang gliding, but I did do a tiny bit of research on it. So please forgive me if I stated something wrong.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Helluva lot of thanks to Cullen818 and JamesRamsey!**

**SM owns it!**

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**JPOV**

Oh shit, the Volturi!

_Hide Bella! Hide Bella! I needed to hide my Bella!_ My brain screamed at me. But _how_ do I hide Bella? Even if she put up her shield, it wouldn't help. Her heart was beating louder than a drum, and any vampire within a three mile radius was sure to have already heard it and ascertained that it was a human beat.

Escape routes, fighting strategies and cause-and-effect scenarios ran through my head at lightning speed and I quickly slammed and locked the door as if the simple wood would keep out the enemy.

_That's not gonna help Whitlock!_

What the fuck do I do?

I was panicking. Why the fuck was I panicking; I never panic!

_But I've never had so much to lose before_, I thought, looking over at my sleeping human mate.

How much time did we have? I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the sound of footsteps. A vampire in the woods stirs up a fury of activity among the forest animals, and all I could hear were the running pattern of multiple sets of paws and hooves, all drowning out the sound I desperately needed to hear.

"Bella!" I yelled, crossing the floor to reach her. "Wake up baby." I gently shook her, trying to not scare her.

She moaned and rolled over. "Le'me lone…sleep…"

I shook her again and sent her a dose of amusement to wake her.

"Ummm…I'm ready baby…fuck me…"

"What?" I asked, confused until I realized I accidently sent her a dose of lust. There was no way I was letting her sleep naked again! "Shit! Bella, wake up!" I shook her again, this time not using my gift. If I was too mixed up in the head to send her the right emotion, how the hell could I protect her?

Protect Bella!

_Protect Bella!_

How the hell am I going to protect Bella?

"What, what is it?" Bella asked, sitting up and rubbing her eye. "What's wrong?"

I began throwing clothes at her while trying to find her shoes. "Put your clothes on."

She yawned, looking at the shirt in her hands before tossing it back off the bed and burrowing down in the blankets. "I don't wanna go anywhere. I'm really tried J," she whined.

Impatiently, I snatched the blanket off of her. My first instinct was to yell at her to get the fuck up and get dressed, but it took exactly two seconds for the image of Bella scared, trembling and pulling away from me to cross my mind, for me to keep my mouth in check. I didn't want the fact that I was fucking panicking to destroy her trust in me or make her afraid of me.

Seeing the frown of confusion cross her face, I dropped to the floor on my knees beside the bed. "Baby, I need you to get up and get dressed," I said softly, yet with enough force that she could tell I was being serious.

She sat up, reaching for the sweater I had previously handed her. "What's wrong?"

I respected her enough to be honest with her. "The Volturi are coming. But don't worry, I'll protect you," I quickly added once I saw the terrified look in her eyes.

"How many? When will they be here?"

I found her jeans and pooled them at her feet in order for her to stand and just pull them up. "I don't know. The wind is blowing their scent east; I only caught a whiff, and I can't tell who it was. And there's too much activity in the woods for me to hear their footsteps."

"I could use my shield, I could hide us!" She said excitedly.

"Yes, put it up for now." I tied the boots on her feet and felt her shield pop up. Next, I zipped up her jacket and pulled her beanie down over her head, moving her toward the door. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Do you remember when we were hiking yesterday and we passed that little cave alcove half way up the side of the mountain?"

She nodded, tears in her eyes.

"I'm gonna run you up there, and I want you to keep your shield up." I pulled the door open and scanned the meadow, taking in a lung full of air and searching for any sign of the Guard. Not seeing any one, I motioned for Bella to jump on my back and once she was secure, I took off running at warp speed.

Bella buried her face into the side of my neck, and clung to me as tight as she could. Even in the snow it wasn't hard for me to find the trail, and I moved quickly through the forest, choosing my steps carefully.

It didn't take me long to find the small cave. I released Bella at the mouth of the cave and did a quick search to make sure that it wasn't occupied by any living creatures. Bella huddled on the floor of the cave. She was cold, and I cursed the fact that I had nothing to help warm her with.

"Listen, whoever's out there has already heard your heart beating, and if Demitri is with them, it will only make it harder for us in the long run if he found us."

"What do we do then?"

"I need you to stay here with your shield up."

She jumped up. "Wait a minute, where are you going?" she asked, almost in a panic.

"I'm gonna go back down and face whoever it is."

"NO! You can't leave me up here alone," she yelled, clutching onto my sweater.

"Bella, listen to me." I leaned down so that I could look directly in her eyes. "I have to face them, but I can't do that knowing that you aren't safe."

"How can I be safe if I'm not with you? You can't leave me here!"

"Baby, we don't have a choice." I pried her fingers from my sweater and pressed my satellite phone into her hands. "I want you to call the Cullen house; it's programmed in as the first number. Call Peter and Emmett and tell them what happened. They will know where to find you."

"Jasper! Please don't leave me, please…." She begged.

I held her hands in mine with her fingers wrapped around the phone and kissed her softly. "Everything's gonna be okay. I'll be back before you know it. Make sure to keep your shield up."

"What if they don't get here in time?"

"They will; they will keep you safe."

"I can't be without you…I can't…" she whispered, falling down to the floor of the cave. "I love you…"

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I promise you will never have to. I love you."

Once outside the cave, and the bubble of Bella's shield, I could no longer hear her sobs, but the vision of her huddled on the floor of the cave and calling my name would forever be imprinted in my mind. It was that image that propelled me forward despite the intense tugging I felt in my chest from leaving my mate behind.

But I had no other choice in the matter. I didn't know how many of the Guard were after us. If we stayed at the yurt, they could easily take her from me or kill her before I could stop them. Hiding her in the cave bought me a few precious minutes of time. I could lead them away from her and that would give my brothers enough time to get to her and take her to safety.

It was snowing harder when I left Bella in the cave, and my pervious footprints had already been covered by fresh snow. I made sure to run in a circular pattern down the mountain. The Guard would now be able to detect my scent, and I needed to make sure that there was no easily discernible track to Bella that they could follow.

The Volturi scent became stronger the closer I got to the yurt. I took a brief moment in the meadow, searching the woods and trying to determine how many of them were after us. I crouched down near the fire pit, and remained statue still- not even daring to breathe- looking, listening and smelling the wind.

When my physiological senses failed, I closed my eyes and sent out my emotional feelers. My skin prickled, and my body reacted without conscious thought, moving toward my target at the speed of a bullet.

Superman ain't got nothin' on me!

My prey was moving fast, but I was of course faster. I leapt through the air, landing on the back of the intruder and tackling the small form to the ground. With the momentum from the force in which I attacked my prey, we rolled across the ground, gaining speed on the slight incline of the terrain.

We cut a path through the forest, knocking down trees and crumbling boulders with our rolling bodies. Razor sharp teeth and hands in the shape of claws ripped through my skin. Likewise, I defended myself, swiping out at my prey with my own hands and locking onto granite hard flesh with my teeth.

Our rolling bodies came to a halt at the bottom of the hill, but we were still wrapped together, snarling and growling, my teeth locked in the back of my prey's neck. And then suddenly it felt like my entire body was being ripped apart.

In my pain, the muscles in my jaw spasm and locked down tighter on my prey. My prey let out a blood curdling scream and I felt hands yank me upward and throw me in the air. I took out several more trees before I landed in a heap several hundred feet away.

I was up and running toward my two attackers before the pain hit again, and I fell to the ground, shaking like I was having a seizure.

"Control yourself, Jasper!" Jane yelled.

She reduced the amount of pain she was sending my way, and the seizures running through my body stopped, but I was still unable to move. I stared wide eyed as Jane crouched over the Guard member I had just had my teeth sunk into. She helped her comrade up and they both turned to me.

"Renata?"

**X-X-X-X**

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" I asked, holding the flesh on my shoulder together and hoping that it would fuse back before Bella saw me. My control was slipping, and being injured was not helping. I needed to feed, and fast. "If you've come to check on Bella, then you can just go the fuck home, she'll be burnin' soon enough!"

"No, we've not come to check on Bella," Jane said, practically running to keep up with my long walking stride. "We've come to help."

"Help? What the fuck are you talkin' 'bout?" I gritted my teeth against the pain in my arm. "Look Jane, I know what you did for Bella in New York, and I'll never be able to repay you, but we don't need your help. Or hers either," I said, nodding toward Renata.

Jane hopped around beside me, trying to keep up with my pace without having to run. "Dammit Jasper, slow down!"

"In case you haven't noticed Jane, I need to feed, and then go find my mate. So get the hell out of my way!"

"You have to help Re-Re. She's hurt and needs to feed too!" Jane said, pulling on my good arm.

Jane was buzzing around me like an annoying little gnat, and I was seriously about to swat her.

I patted my front and back pockets. "Sorry, I'm fresh out of spare humans. Move!"

"We're changing our diets to match you guys Jasper, and we don't know how to hunt animals."

I caught the scent of a herd of deer two miles south of where we were standing and took off running in that direction, leaving Jane and Renata behind and yelling out after me. It took three deer for me to even start to feel normal again, so I gorged myself on an extra one just to be on the safe side.

When I got back to the path where I had left them, Jane and Renata were kneeling over a pile of dead rabbits, covered in blood and fur.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I asked.

"We haven't eaten since we left Italy, and we figured that we needed to start somewhere," Jane defended, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Fur swirled around them, making them look like the cartoon where the coyote gets dipped in tar and then feathers.

"It looks like you got more blood on the fuckin' ground than you did in your mouth." I dropped the fifth, half dead deer I had killed at their feet. "Rip the fur away from the neck, use your nose to find the jugular and suck." I turned on my heel and walked away, chuckling to myself at the look of disgust on both of their faces when I dropped the deer in front of them.

"Wait a minute, where are you going?" Jane demanded, forgetting all about the deer she was about to sink her teeth into and ran after me.

I ignored her question and continued walking. "The highway is about fifty miles north," I pointed out which way was north so that they would not have any excuse in finding it, "and the nearest bus station is about forty miles beyond that. Most people around here don't mind giving others a ride, but I'd imagine you two already know that from eating whoever it was that brought you this far, so I guess it doesn't really matter anyway."

"I told you we haven't eaten since we left Italy, and if you leave us out here we'll just follow your scent!" Jane yelled.

"And I will kill both of you and send your ashes back to Aro. Go back to Italy and stay the fuck away from my family! Come back in thirteen months with the rest of your brood!"

"You mean if Alice and Edward don't show up first?" Renata said.

I whirled around and ran toward her, but was suddenly struck with a sense of disorientation, and I couldn't remember where I was running or why. I turned around and around in the middle of the forest, trying to get my bearings. The sound of Renata laughing echoed off the rocks of the valley we were in.

"Listen to me," Jane said, grabbing me by the neck of my sweater and pulling me down to her level. "We want to help, and you need our help."

The disoriented feeling fell away and I pulled away from Jane. "What do you know about Alice and Edward?"

"Are you gonna allow us to help you?" Renata asked.

"Why do you want to be a part of this? This is not your fight!" I yelled.

"Whether we're fighting _with_ you or _against _you, it is our fight. Aro will make sure of that."

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"Bella told you why I helped her in New York," Jane said.

I nodded.

"We want to be free," Renata said.

"Free from Aro," Jane confirmed. "And if you're going to rule the vamp world, well then we'd rather be subjected to you instead of Dracula."

_Dracula_.

That was what Bella had called Aro in the meadow the first time she had met him. I rubbed my chest, the tugging feeling still very much still there. I needed to get back to my mate.

_But what if they're lying?_ I thought. What if I take them back to the yurt, or Cullen house and they turn on us? What if Aro sent them to spy on us and then kill us? Bella was still a human, and they were still very much so human drinkers. What if bringing them around Bella and her beating heart caused them to lose control and kill her before I could change her?

"You need to get back to her," Renata said, nodding at my hand on my chest.

I dropped my hand. "What do you know about it?"

"_True mates_. In four hundred years I've only seen it a hand full of times," she mumbled, a faraway look in her eyes.

I ignored Renata and turned back to Jane. "You still haven't told me what you know about Alice and Edward," I said.

"My spies have spies, Jasper. You give us political asylum and we help you fight Aro, your brother and your ex-wife."

"This is not the Cold War and you're not defecting from Russia, Jane!"

"We know that, Jasper!" Renata yelled. "The simple fact that _I'm_ here should tell you something! I've been joined at Aro's hip for so fuckin' long that even if I tried to go back now, he'd take one look at my memories from the last six days and kill me. For the first time in over three hundred years, _I_ decided what I wanted to do when the sun came up. _I_ decided what I wanted to wear and who I wanted to eat and when. I can't go back there, I won't!"

Jane put her arm around her friend, gently patting her back while she dry sobbed.

"While I'm just a member of the Guard, we were allowed a certain amount of freedom. But Renata was Aro's personal bodyguard, and he made every decision for her. We just want to be individuals Jasper, that's all."

I rubbed my chest again, thinking about what they had said and remembering my own days with Maria. While Maria was no Aro, and her ruling hand was not as extensive, I knew what it was like living under someone else's dictatorship. I knew what it was like living as if your life was not your own.

What they were saying made sense and my gut instinct as well as my emo feelers told me they weren't lying. But even if I wanted to help them, there were still seven other vampires and one tiny human to deal with. I would not put my family in any more danger than they were already facing with Alice and Edward on the loose, and now possibly Aro as well.

"Bella-"

"Will be safe from us. We won't hurt her, and we can help you train her," Jane said eagerly. "Please, Jasper."

I shook my head. "It's not my decision to make." I walked off again.

"Jasper!"

"Eat your breakfast and then meet me in the meadow by the yurt!"

X-X-X-X

"_I'm not leaving until you go find him!"_

I could hear Bella screaming and crying two miles before I even got to the yurt. The sound of the agony in her voice had me tearing through the trees to reach her side. I should have never allowed myself to get side tracked with the Jane and Renata sad sob fest.

"_He'll be okay,"_ I heard Emmett say. _"But we need to get you back to the family house first."_

"_I'm not goin' anywhere without Jasper!" _Bella screamed.

"_Listen Bella, the plan was that if somethin' happened, we had to come get you first darlin'_," Peter said. "_The Major would have my ass in pieces if we went against that and somethin' happened to you. We should already be back at the house now."_

"_I need him…please_," she cried over and over.

"You're right," I said, stepping inside of the yurt. "She shouldn't even be here right now."

"Jasper!" Bella screamed and launched herself at me, wrapping her legs around my waist.

I caught her easily in my arms, holding her to me and rubbing her back. The tugging feeling vanished as soon as I had her in my arms. She pulled back and framed my face in her tiny hands, placing kisses all over my face and whispering that she loved me over and over.

I could see the relieved expression on each of my brother's faces.

"Are you hurt? Are they coming for us? How much time do we have? Do you need to bite me right now? Who do you want me to zap first?" Bella asked, firing questions at me left and right.

I sat down on the edge of the bed with her still in my arms. Nervous energy was running through her and it was like holding a live wire in my arms. "Okay first of all, breathe. Just calm down, baby." I pushed the hair off her forehead and kissed her softly. "Now, to answer your first question, no, I am not hurt."

"Yes you are, or were. This is a fresh scar." Bella pointed at the newly healed wound on my shoulder. "Does it still hurt? Do you need to feed from me?" She asked, pulling at the neck of her sweater to reveal the creamy skin of her neck.

I pulled her hand away from the neck of her sweater. Seeing her soft skin had me hungry, but not in the suck-your-blood type of way. I quickly shifted her across my lap so that she wasn't sitting directly on my dick. "I have so many scars, how do you know that one is new?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "I know every inch of your body, Jasper. And that one is new."

"I'm fine, I promise."

"I…are you sure, I mean…." She buried her face in my chest while she cried. I held her as tight as I could without hurting her to let her know that I was very much okay.

"What happened man?" Emmett asked when I finally got Bella calmed down.

"Fuckin' Jane and Renata happened, that's what," I snarled.

"They brought the Guard?" Peter asked, jumping up.

"No, no nothin' like that. For lack of a better term, they're Benedict Arnold-ing."

"Who is Renata?" Bella asked, still clinging to me as if she were trying to burrow herself under my skin.

"Aro's personal bodyguard," Emmett explained. "They're so tight, I wonder if Sulpicia has to ask for permission to fuck her own husband." He laughed.

"Uh, ewww!" Bella said, grimacing. "Who'd wanna _do_ Dracula?"

"So why are they here?" Emmett asked.

"Switching sides; they want to be free of Aro's control," Peter said, looking at me. Like me, he understood what it meant to live under someone else's control. "What do you want to do, Major?"

"I don't know," I said, rubbing circles on Bella's back. From her change in breathing I could tell she was almost asleep. "They should be here any moment."

"Here?" Emmett asked, looking around the yurt.

"In the meadow," I clarified. "We'll need to take them back to the house, talk to them and then put it to a vote."

"We could use the help," Emmett pointed out.

"They're here," Peter stated catching their scent on the wind as it blew through the partially opened window.

I shifted Bella, intending to tuck her under the covers and let her sleep, but she panicked and screamed when I tried to unhook her hands from around my neck.

"Baby, I'll be right back," I whispered. "I'm just gonna be right outside."

"No, don't leave me. Please…please…" She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "It hurts when you leave me."

"Just let her come, Jazz. We'll make sure she's okay," Emmett said.

"Okay, okay. But stay right by my side," I warned.

"Where else would I be?" Bella asked.

**X-X-X-X**

The sun was coming up over the mountains, and the five of us stood in the meadow looking like sparklers on the Fourth of July; two of them against the four of us. Bella was holding my hand in a death grip, moving in sync with me every time I took a step or deep breath. I was just as terrified to leave her sight as she was to leave mine. With the two of us being as emo-y as we currently were, I was glad that Emmett and Peter were there to balance us out.

"So what are your terms?" Peter asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"We agree to help you fight and to supply you with the information that we will need to be successful, in exchange for your protection and your knowledge on how to live like a veggie vamp," Jane said.

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Emmett asked.

Jane pulled her phone out of her pocket and extended it to me. "That video clip was sent to me the morning we left Italy by one of my spies."

Bella accepted the phone, queued the video and shielded the tiny screen in her hands from the sun.

"It's Alice and Edward!" Bella exclaimed.

"…_fuckin' think Alice!"_

_Alice was squatting over what appeared to be her last meal, a small human girl, and was rocking back and forth holding onto her head. "I'm trying Edward baby, but it's not coming to me! The human blood's not working either!"_

"_How the fuck are we supposed to have the upper hand if you can't see them?" he screamed at her, wildly waving his hands around. "Ever since Bella hit you in the head, you've been no good to me!"_

Peter smiled and snorted with laughter at seeing Edward's nearly fingerless hand bound and wrapped. I knew that he kept those fingers in a Ziploc bag in his bedside table.

"_We've already got Stefan and Vladimir on our side! I did that; I convinced them to back us, didn't I?"_

"_It's gonna take a helluva lot more than those two old bastards to take down your ex-husband!"_

There were a few unintelligible shouts and the video clip ended. Bella passed the phone back to Jane, careful to not get too close or leave my side.

"Apparently, that little blow to her head that you delivered is causing her quite a bit of difficulty," Renata said to Bella. "Alice is having problems with her visions; they come and go _seconds_ before the actual event happens, leaving them unable to make an effective plan of action."

"How did you get this?" I demanded, nodding to her phone.

"This was shot five days ago in Romania by one of my spies. Since Alice can't see the spies coming, and they have been trained and instructed to block their thoughts from Edward, it's easier to have them followed."

"Surly Alice and Edward can smell your spies approach," Peter said. "Or detect them some other way."

"Not all of my spies are human, and I've been careful to use a different spy in each city they've been to," Jane said. "So there is no continuous scent trail to alert them."

"This all seems so…scripted," Bella said. "It's like you know what we're gonna ask in the way of proof before we even ask it."

Jane and Renata looked at each other and both nodded, but it was Renata that spoke up. "I've spent all my vampire life waiting for the moment to be free. When you have that much time to dream up an escape, then you tend to think of every scenario that you may need."

"Which still sounds scripted," Jane agreed. "But that's just how it is."

"Is Demitri looking for you?" Emmett asked. "Because if you bring him here…"

Jane shook her head. "The day we left, Aro ordered Volterra to be locked down. No vampires in and no vampires out. Those in the field were to return immediately and await further instruction."

"So he knows about Alice and Edward. How much time do we have?" I asked. "How long before the entire Guard shows up here looking for you?"

"He doesn't know that we're here," Renata said. "And we don't think he knows about Alice and Edward."

"And we don't know how much longer before he reacts to us being gone from the castle," Jane said. "I've been trying to get through to Gianna for a while now, but no one is answering the phone at the front desk."

"If she's not answering, then she's probably dead by now," Renata confirmed.

"Maybe Demitri changed her," Bella said before she yawned. "Eleazar said that they were together, together."

"Wait a second," Emmett said. "Why would he lock Volterra down if he doesn't know about Alice and Edward?"

"Aro recently acquired a Seer of sorts."

"What do you mean 'of sorts'?" Peter asked.

"She can only see the future of the people she touches," Jane said.

"And?"

"And everyday Aro takes her hand. The day we left she saw his death," Renata said.

"But she couldn't see who killed him or how," Jane continued.

"So Aro locked the castle down and put all vamps on high alert," Bella said.

They nodded.

"And now he's rallying his forces, biding his time and waiting," Emmett said.

"Waiting for what though?" I wondered out loud.

Bella sighed. I looked down at my human mate and noted the dark circles under her eyes. Her stomach growled and I could feel her exhaustion pouring off her. Before she could protest, I gently scooped her up in my arms.

"Peter, you guys take the two of them back to the Cullen house and call Carlisle. I'm gonna feed my mate and take her to bed. Bella and I will be there sometime tomorrow evening."

"So does that mean you'll let us stay?" Jane asked excitedly.

I turned and started toward the yurt. "It means that we'll see." I stopped and faced Jane and Renata again. "But if I detect another vampire roaming around in the woods, or find out that either of you have been lying to me, then you'll be dead before you can blink. Got it?"

They both nodded.

"And don't be lookin' at my throat and lickin' your lips either!" Bella yelled out over my shoulder as I held her in my arms.

"And I suggest you use the rest of the day trying to find the answer to my question of when Aro is going to show up, because I don't like surprises."

"You know this changes everything," Peter called out to me.

"Don't I fuckin' know it," I mumbled.

I took my mate back to the yurt and managed to get a peanut butter sandwich stuffed in her before she passed out sitting at the kitchen counter. I tucked Bella into bed, wrote her a note telling her where I was and then spent the next several hours prowling the meadow outside of the yurt trying to figure out what to do next.

There were no easy answers to the questions that were running through my head, and that caused me a great amount of frustration. I ran around karate chopping trees and kicking chucks of rock off large boulders in the woods. The poor animals I came across didn't stand a chance; I was wild in my attack, ripping their throats out and tossing their remains around haphazardly after I fed from them. When I finally calmed down, I went back over the trail of destruction that I had left in my wake and buried the carcasses, silently apologizing for my monstrous actions.

I was headed back to the yurt when I noticed how foul I smelled. I was covered in animal blood, fur, dirt and grime. I didn't want to freak Bella out, so I stripped everything off, burned my clothes in the fire pit and ran and jumped in the hot springs.

I was sitting at the bottom of the pool, stewing in my own thoughts when I saw a shadow pass over the surface of the water.

"So, you destroyed half the forest. I hope you feel better," Bella said as soon as I broke the surface of the water.

She was standing on the little teak wood deck dressed in the shortest denim shorts I had ever seen, a tank top with no bra on and her calf high all-weather boots on and holding a beach towel.

"Bella, what the fuck are you doing out here dressed like that? It's got to be damn near twenty degrees out here."

"Hey Popsicle, I sleep next to you every night, now don't I?" she snapped.

"Bella!"

"Jasper!" she yelled, matching my frustrated tone and adding her hands on her hips with it.

"Get back to the yurt, I don't want you to get sick!"

"And I don't want you taking all of this onto your shoulders," she shot back, throwing the beach towel down and gesturing to the havoc I had just caused in the woods.

"Protecting you is _my_ responsibility!" I yelled, beating on my chest like a caveman.

"And protecting you is mine!"

"How can _you_ protect me?" I asked.

"I may not be a hardheaded vamp yet, but that doesn't mean that I can't take care of you. We can figure this out together if you would just let me help you. But no, Mr. Emo-Caveman wants to work it out all by himself!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

"It's not that simple!"

She nodded, as if coming to a solution to a problem. "I thought we were partners Jasper; mates who relied on each other and worked shit out, _together_! At least now I know the truth."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

She turned and walked away, ignoring me when I called her name. I knew enough about Bella to know that if I ran after her, we would just end up arguing even more and she would kick me out of the yurt. I didn't want to spend my night prowling the meadow while she slept.

_Jasper Whitlock does not do the proverbial dog house shit!_

Angrily, I slapped the surface of the water, picked up a rock and threw it as far as I could into the woods. I heard some sort of animal yelp in pain and I realized I must have taken out another living thing in my frustration. _Shit!_

My head was all over the place, and I wasn't in a mood to be bothered by anyone or anything, so I went back to my sulking spot underneath the water. Good thing I didn't need to breathe, I had a feeling that I would be there for a while.

**BPOV**

"Fucking man!" I yelled out loud to an empty yurt. "I…ugh…he thinks he's supposed to have _all_ the answers just 'cause he's the fucking _Major_!" I yanked off my boots and threw them across the floor.

I had been deep in la-la land when I heard horrible sounds coming from outside. Once I was fully awake enough to know that the sounds weren't coming from the TV or in my dreams, I crawled out of bed to see Jasper tearing through the woods like a Tasmanian devil. He was knocking over trees and kicking up a dirt cloud around him like a mini tornado. At one point he stopped spinning around long enough to yell at a mound of large boulders before pulverizing them into dust.

He was yelling about Jane and Renata popping up out of the blue, and the fact that he didn't know how to solve the problem of them being here.

Seeing him like that made me mad as hell; instead of talking to me he'd rather tear up the fucking Canadian forest. I understood the need for him to work out some of his frustrations, but at the same time, I knew that in this instance, Jasper wasn't just going to spill his guts about how he was feeling. For over a century now he had never been faced with a situation that he couldn't strategize his way through. And now, there were no easy answers for what we all were about to face.

I had half a mind to call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and have his ass tossed in jail for knocking down all of those trees. There had to be some law against being a menace to the forest population, right? All of those poor little animals running around scared of an out of control vampire!

Seriously though, would it kill the man to tell me how he was feeling? Mr. Emo Empath was constantly on my case about expressing my feelings, and then when it came down to it, he couldn't even express his own! He'd rather sit at the bottom of the fucking hot springs and sulk than to come inside and talk to me. And no, I didn't have the answers, hell, I didn't have half of the answers, but it would be nice to know that he needed me as much as I needed him!

And I knew that even though he mentioned talking to Carlisle about all of it, Jasper was already putting this entire situation on his shoulders. Why couldn't he see that none of us expected him to have all the answers? That was what family was for, to walk with you through the good as well as the bad. I knew that, not from my own experiences with my own stellar family of course, but because that was what the Cullen's had taught me in the short amount of time that I had been with them.

I hadn't heard the door open or close, but I knew he was standing behind me even before he touched me. That tugging sensation seemed to work both ways; it pulled when he was away and it snapped together like a rubber band when he was near.

He slipped his arms around my waist and kissed my shoulder with his warm lips. _Warm_? What the hell? He was standing close enough to prevent me from turning around, but I could feel the heat radiating off his naked body. The only thing between him and the Lord was that blue beach towel. For as long as he had been sitting underneath hot water, it had served to heat up his entire body, similar to those hot rocks they had used at the spa in Philly.

"Jasper-"

"I'm sorry," he said, running his fingers up and down my arms and nuzzling my neck with his nose. "I'm a hypocrite, I'm a fucking male chauvinist pig and truth be told, I don't know what's gonna happen now and that scares the shit out of me. Three days ago I was on top of the fucking world because I thought that Peter and I had a plan; now, not so much."

I didn't know what to say to that. Luckily, I didn't think he expected me to say anything.

"I shouldn't have shut you out," he whispered.

He moved his _warm_ lips up and down my neck. Jasper's body temperature had never been an issue for me before. It was a part of who he was and I accepted it about him as easily as I had accepted everything else about him. But feeling him now, at the same temperature as me—or hotter—was a major turn on.

_Mad Bella, you're supposed to be mad at him_, I kept telling myself.

But that was really hard to do when I could feel his hard erection poking me in the small of my back. Just the thought of him standing behind me, naked, warm and wet from the hot springs was enough to have me panting.

_Stay firm, don't give in!_

He pushed my hair to the side and ran his tongue along the outer lobe of my ear. "I promise that I'll do better about telling you how I feel about things."

I was trying not to pant or moan.

"Jasper-"

"It's just that I have so much to lose now. I want to protect you from everything bad and evil in this world, Bella."

"You can't protect me from everything, baby," I said, swallowing hard. His hands were now underneath my shirt and he was slowly caressing my stomach, the back of his hands gently brushing the underside of my breasts.

I shivered.

"Please forgive me, please," he begged with a husky voice.

_Stay firm Bella, don't give in! _I repeated over and over to myself.

But then I felt his towel fall to the floor, and his hands on the button and zipper of my shorts.

_Give in Bella, give in!_

"Am I forgiven?" He asked in a tiny voice.

How the hell did my shorts get on the floor?

"I…um…"

He ran his fingers along the seam of my panties at the top of my hips.

"Baby, please say somethin'," he whispered, slipping his fingers inside the lace.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember how to breathe and speak at the same time."Y-yes."

"Yes, what?"

His fingers traveled up and down my slit, seeking.

"Yes, yes I forgive you!" I yelled as he found the spot he was searching for.

He chuckled in my ear. "I love you so much. You know that right?"

"Umm…." I moaned as he stroked me, his fingers moving across my clit in lazy circles.

"You're my life Bella, and I can't be without you. I-"

"Jasper?" I panted.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Can you just shut up and fuck me already?"

I was completely naked in under a second, and lying on the bed on my back surrounded by Jasper in another. He was everywhere on me at once, and the fact that he was the same temperature as me was enough to set me on fire.

I hooked a hand around the back of his head, gripping his still wet hair and pulled him down on top of me, greedily kissing him back, plunging my tongue into his mouth and then sucking on his bottom lip. He felt so good lying on top of me, his weight pushing me down and trapping his hard erection between us.

One of Jasper's hands was pinching my nipple, and he broke our kiss in order to suck the other into his mouth. I wanted him inside of me so bad I couldn't see straight, but it was obvious by the way he was taking his time, kissing me, licking me and toying with my clit, that he was slowly trying to drive me insane.

"God Jasper, please get inside me. Please," I begged and reached down between us to stroke him.

"Put me inside of you then," he panted. He moved over me and gripped the headboard; giving me enough room to maneuver.

I pumped his large cock in my hand, liking the way his head fell back onto his shoulders at the sensation and ran his tip up and down against my clit. He moaned when I wiggled around, trying to find the right placement at my entrance.

"That's it," I said, breathing hard.

He chuckled and leaned down to kiss me. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The look in his eyes changed, and if I hadn't been staring into the whiskey colored depths, I would have missed it entirely. It was feral, and it was sexy as hell. He smiled, and then slammed into me.

"Agh…fuck!"

I ran my hands up and down Jasper's back, liking the way he trembled when I scraped my nails along his spine. His body, even though still warm from the water, was starting to cool. Like condensation on a glass, he was…sweating. To see the drops of sweat cling to his brow, or the ones that ran down and held onto the tip of his nose, triggered something deep in my body and I began thrusting my hips upward as he slammed into me.

I begged him to go faster…deeper…. harder.

"So good…damn baby…"

Jasper hooked one of my legs over his arm, changing the angle of his thrust. I held onto him as best I could, our sweating bodies sliding against one another.

"Please…please…"

I didn't know which one of us was begging this time, but the sentiment was mutual…more.

Jasper pounded into me, making sure to grind his hips against my core each time. I arched my back, bringing him deeper.

"C'mon baby…"

I was screaming his name.

He was yelling mine.

And we both fell apart.

**X-X-X-X**

"Jasper?"

He rolled over and draped his arm around my waist, gently cupping one breasts in his hand, running his thumb over my nipple. "Hmmm?"

If he were human, I would have thought he was half sleep with the way he answered me.

I hooked my arm around his head, playing with the hair at the back of his head and enjoying the purring sound he made. "What happens now, with Jane and Renata?"

"I don't know babe, but we'll figure it out, together."

* * *

**AN: Leave me some good lovin!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Posting on FFn is epic fail, and I hope you all get this update!**

**SM owns it.**

**Cullen818 and JamesRamsey are my beta gurls, and they rock!**

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**JPOV**

Despite the frigid temperature and the foot of snow on the ground outside, the sun coming in through the window was bright, and coupled with my now sparkling skin, woke Bella up.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked her when she rolled over. I caught her hand before she accidently slapped me in the face and hurt herself.

Her head popped up out of the blankets and she looked around the yurt. She yawned and burrowed back down into the pocket of warmth her little body had created. "Bacon, eggs, waffles and coffee."

"That's a change."

"What?"

"You usually don't want anything."

"Well, I figured since our friends showed up yesterday, my human days are probably numbered. I may as well fill up on all the carbs and greasy food I can before you start forcing rabbits and squirrels on me."

"We don't eat rabbits and squirrels," I said, in mock offense. "Bella-"

She rolled over to face me, cupping my face with her hands. "Don't, Jasper. Don't get all 'let's talk about how you're feeling' on me. I want to be with you for the rest of forever, and if it means giving up greasy food and empty calories, then I'll gladly give it up to be with you."

"I just hate that we have to do this now."

"We don't have to do it now. You're cooking me breakfast first, remember?" she said laughing.

"You are so not funny."

She pulled me down for a kiss. But Bella and I could never just kiss. Before I knew it, she had pushed me over and was straddling my body with her very warm and naked one.

"I changed my mind," she said, rubbing her wet center over me.

"'Bout what?" I groaned and reached up to run my hands over her breasts.

She slammed herself down over my hard cock as I thrust up into her. "I think I want sex for breakfast instead."

X-X-X-X-X

"I'll bring you back one day soon, I promise." I watched Bella stroll around the yurt running her hand along the surface of the furniture. It was almost as if she was committing everything to memory through touch.

Bella wiped at the tears in her eyes. "I know; I just wish we weren't facing what we're facing."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "We'll be okay, babe. We're not gonna lose each other."

She nodded. "Let's just go. I miss my family."

Even as a vampire, I was amazed at the concept of time. Two things remained certain, whether you're a vamp or a human; you only have twenty-four hours a day, and it always seems like you get back home faster than when you left.

Before either of us knew it, we were pulling into the drive-way at the Cullen house. Rose and Char were the first to run out and greet us. These two women had been my sisters for decades, we had fought side-by-side together and been through thick and thin, but by the way they were fawning all over Bella and just ignoring me, you couldn't even tell that we knew each other. Which was fine with me, I was glad Bella had sisters-friends to be there for her; I just followed behind, carrying our bags like the dutiful mate that I was.

Just inside the house, Jane and Renata hung back out of the way, projecting curiosity and envy. They were obviously curious about how a vamp could form such a strong bond with a human. Jane had been in the meadow when Chelsea mated Bella and I, but the bond we now shared was a thousand times stronger than what she had a hand in doing, and Jane knew the difference. I sensed the heaviest amount of envy coming from Renata though.

The day before, when she mentioned the term _true mates_, I could detect the longing within her. I didn't know her story, but I knew she was pining for the 'one who got away', and as such, it was manifesting itself as envy—a good, wholesome, type of envy. She simply wanted to help protect the love Bella and I shared.

There was no malice behind her feelings, and it almost seemed as if the weight of the world was not as heavy as I had originally thought. Renata caught me staring at her, and smiled. I nodded back to her, acknowledging her acceptance into our lives.

I caught the scent of vanilla and cinnamon, and smiled at what I knew Bella's reaction would be. Esme and Carlisle were home, and my mate was going to be thrilled that her surrogate parents were back.

I could hear Esme banging around in the kitchen, and Carlisle's voice as he read from a cook book. They were cooking, or at least attempting to, and Carmen and Eleazar were laughing at them.

"So what have you two been up to?" Rose asked, hooking her arm through Bella's and pulling her over to the sofa.

"Oh you know, the usual." Bella shrugged. "Hang gliding, hiking, and hanging out at the hot springs." She looked over her shoulder and winked at me.

"Well if that's all you did, you could have hung around here to do that!" Esme said, coming out of the kitchen.

Bella screamed and ran to our mother, throwing her arms around her. "When did you guys get back?"

"Just this morning," Carlisle said, taking his turn to hug his daughter. "And we brought friends."

Eleazar and Carmen peeked their heads around the kitchen door. "Hello _tesoro_!"

"Eleazar! They put you back together again!" Bella said excitedly.

The old vampire threw back his head and laughed before hugging Bella. "Yes they did. I'd like for you to meet my mate and wife. Bella, this is Carmen, and Carmen, this is Jasper's Bella."

"You're just as beautiful as Eli said," Carmen said softly and hugged Bella as well. "Welcome to our family."

Bella dropped her head, and I could smell the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry they hurt you because of me."

"What? No _tesoro_," Eleazar said, rubbing soothing circles on Bella's back as Carmen held her. "It's not your fault young Alice and Edward have chosen to leave us."

"But I attacked Alice and provoked her and then she took it out on you," Bella cried.

My heart broke over the agony Bella was feeling, and I was desperate to go and comfort her. But, I knew Bella and Eleazar needed to strengthen _their_ family bond, and this was the way to do it.

"We vampires are made of tough stuff Bella dear, and there was no permanent harm done," Carmen said, still holding Bella. "Besides, if it weren't for you, my Eli would be trapped in Volterra with that vile man, Aro. He would be under the thumb of evil, and not here by my side where he belongs. So for that, I can never repay you."

"And, you have to admit, the damage you inflicted to little Alice was certainly funny." Eleazar laughed.

It struck me as strange that someone as refined as Eleazar would condone violence of any sort, but when I thought about it, it was not only human nature that championed for the underdog to win or get even, it was also in a vampires nature's too. Eleazar had witnessed the amount of times Alice had jeered at Bella and just outright dogged her. A person can only take so much. And, while Bella's reaction was not what some may have deemed appropriate considering the opinions of every pop talk show host on TV regarding how to handle bullies, this was not your average case of bullying. Bella did what she felt was necessary, and I was proud she stood up for herself.

"And apparently pretty helpful according to Jane," Carmen added.

"Thank you for not hating me."

"Never dear, we could never hate you," Eleazar said.

"I think we should…talk…" Jane said. "…since we're all here."

"Yes, let's get down to it," Rose said. "Since you two showed up yesterday, you've been hanging out in the corners and watching us. I'd like to finally find out what it is you're here to do."

I could feel her suspicions- as well as most of the family's- over our guests, and I briefly thought about sending the room a bit of reassuring calm to help Jane and Renata state their case. But just because I felt a blanket of honesty surrounding them, didn't mean they weren't faking it. I didn't want my family discussing and deciding on something this important based on my ability to soothe their fears and take away their insecurities.

It quickly became obvious that each vampire was pairing off with their respective mate, and this family discussion was going to become the Cullen Inquisition. Jane and Renata sat together, facing a semi-circle of doubters.

They recounted the same story they had told Em, Peter, Bella and myself the day before, even showing the small video clip of Edward and Alice again to each of us. My brothers and I remained silent, letting the rest of the family ask the questions.

"I was wondering what your plans were to convert to the veggie lifestyle after living for so long on the Aro plan?" Char asked.

"We know it's not going to be easy," Jane said. "But, we want what you people have, and we'll just have to keep reminding ourselves of that as a motivator."

"What do you mean, you want what we have?" Esme asked.

"A family," Renata said softly, looking at Bella and me. "We want a family, and maybe eventually…mates."

"But you can have that and still be a meat eater," Rose said. "Why change, now?"

"Eww Rose, a meat eater. Really?" Bella said.

"Does it really matter when we do it, or why?" Jane asked defensively. "Does a fat lady need to tell her reasons for wanting to lose weight?"

"Generally she does," Carlisle said, quirking an eyebrow at Jane's tone. I could feel Carlisle's doubts and fears the most, because he knew that his opinion about Jane and Renata joining us would possibly sway the vote. "And your decision to switch diets all of a sudden is a testimony as to the real reason you are here." He stood and moved around the room, deep in thought. "Animal blood sustains us; human blood makes our bodies thrive. I've never personally felt the effects of human blood coursing through my body, but I have seen the affects of switching between the two."

He looked over at me, asking for my permission to continue with his line of reasoning. I nodded.

"Ingesting human blood, compared to animal blood, is like a drug addict shooting and getting high on heroin. And coming off that type of high can be excruciating—much like an addict deciding to come clean. I witnessed Jasper's initial struggle with blood lust, and I can honestly say that it was not easy for him, or us. He would be fine for years, and then catch the passing scent of someone delicious, and it would drive him wild. For our sake, he would try to reign in his emotions…but that was not always possible."

"We can do this; we _want_ to do this," Jane said.

"But at what cost to the rest of us?" Rose said, looking at me.

Bella squeezed my hand and snuggled closer to me. I could feel everyone's concern for me, but what they didn't realize was that, thanks to the beautiful woman beside me, I was over my blood lust. Sure, my throat still burned every time Bella was near, but I did not have the over consuming desire to drain her or anyone with a heartbeat.

"Look guys, I'm cool with them wanting to change. It doesn't affect me anymore," I said looking down at Bella. I ran my fingers across her cheeks, as if trying to erase the worry in her eyes. "I haven't wanted to kill you in a very long time."

Bella laughed. "Well that's comforting to know." She kissed me, letting her lips linger against mine longer than she normally did when we were around family. I could feel her body relax, and a sense of serenity wash over her.

I looked around at the rest of my family. "So don't base your decisions on me."

Renata fidgeted with the hem of her sweater. "My mate was an animal drinker," she said softly.

"Your mate?" Char asked.

She nodded, and suppressed a dry sob. "Before Aro killed him."

Jane held Renata's hand in her own, offering her emotional support.

"What happened?" Carmen asked.

Renata took a moment to compose her emotions and then spoke very softly. "Several hundred years ago I lived just outside of Brasov, Romania, with a small coven of five vampires. At that time, we were the largest family of vampires outside of the Volturi. My mate, Nicholas, was our head, much like you Carlisle. And because Nick believed vampires didn't need a ruler, that they should be able to govern themselves, his position was a threat to Aro and the others.

She looked around the room at each of us. "I was a fairly new vampire, and had just begun to learn how my gift worked. But the day the Volturi came to my village, before I could use my gift, Chelsea bonded me to Aro, and he executed my entire family before my very eyes. I've been his slave, watching his back and protecting him every day since."

"How did you break the bond?" Emmett asked. "If you're here now, you must have broken it. How?"

"They promised Chelsea that we would win against Aro," Eleazar said. "Isn't that right, Jane?"

Jane nodded. "Chelsea's bonds cannot be broken unless she wills it, or unless a bond turns out to be a true mating bond."

"Chelsea wanted to leave too?" Char asked.

"Yes, but she knew that the three of us would never be able to leave undetected, so she agreed to wait, as long as we agreed to spare her in the battle," Renata said.

"When is this battle going to take place?" Bella asked. "We keep talkin' 'bout it, but when is it gonna happen?"

Jane sighed. "We don't know. I received a report from one of my spies this morning saying Alice and Edward have made plans to resume their recruiting in South America."

Peter and I looked at each other.

"South America? Do you guys know vamps down there?" Bella asked.

"Most vamps are nomadic, Bella. The old ones we fought back in the day could be anywhere in the world now," I said.

"So maybe we should start makin' a list of the ones you two pissed off bad enough to still hold a vendetta against you," Rose suggested.

Peter laughed. "I know that forever means somethin' different to our kind, but even we don't have that much time in the world."

"So what do we do then?" Esme asked.

"Wait a moment, how would Alice know who to recruit if her gift is not working properly?" Carmen asked.

I took a deep breath. "She used to ask me about the Southern Wars…"

"…and like any veteran soldier's sittin' around chewing the fat, we used to talk about it…a lot," Peter added.

"The same stories, over and over again," Char said. "Back then, neither of us would have guessed what she was up to."

"Oh shit!" Esme said, jumped up and ran to the kitchen.

"The casserole is about to burn," Carlisle explained and got up to go assist his mate.

"I wondered what that horrible smell was," Rose said.

"Yeah, burnt human food smells worse than non-burnt food," Emmett said.

"It's not burnt yet!" Esme yelled back out to us.

"Burnt or not, it all smells like shit to me," Peter said.

"Hey!" Bella yelled. "I'm still human, and I still have to eat human food."

"Not for long, little one," Emmett said. "So when's the big day, bro?"

Everyone's eyes swiveled toward me, questioning. I looked down at Bella's smiling face and pulled her closer. "Soon."

"What about the wolves?" Char asked. "What was their response to the situation?"

While Bella and I were at the yurt, Carlisle and Esme had gone back to Forks to request a meeting with Sam and the Quileute Tribal Council. Along with Eleazar and Carmen, the four of them met on the Treaty line with the wolves and council members.

Eleazar shook his head. "The Council unanimously voted to stay out of this. Sam spoke for the tribe saying that while the respect they have for our family remains, this is a fight over vampire issues that do not involve humans, and they are not willing to risk their lives for us."

Bella jumped up. "If Alice and Edward succeed, who knows what the effect will be on the human population!" she yelled. "Don't they know that?"

"Alice and Edward are not going to win this!" I shouted. I could feel her fear, and it angered me. Did she think I couldn't protect her? Did she think that I would allow someone to harm her? Where was her faith in me, in my ability to fight for her?

"Stop right there Major, and pull it out," Peter said.

"Pull what out?" I asked. "What the hell are you talkin' 'bout?"

"Pull your head out of your ass; Bella has a right to feel worried and afraid or however she wants to feel."

Bella looked at me with unshed tears in her eyes. Peter was right, and if I could stop being an ass for half a second, I would have realized that the one thing I didn't feel from Bella was doubt. She wasn't doubting me or our family, and her fear of the unknown was justified.

"We've never lost a fight, Bella," I said. "And we're not going to lose this one."

"But you've never faced something like this before either," Bella pointed out.

"No, perhaps not. But, with our families joining together, we have a better chance," Eleazar said.

"Tanya and the girls will be here in a few days," Carmen said.

"Great, we can start planning and training when they get here," Rose said.

"And we're fighting too," Jane added. "That makes fifteen of us."

"But is that enough?" Bella asked.

Peter and I looked at each other again; he flashed me a smug smirk.

"Oh yeah, Dracula's gonna get the surprise of his life," Peter said.

X-X-X-X

I opened the bedroom door to see Bella sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, fresh from her shower and furiously writing in one of her journals. Ever since the morning I had given the notebooks to her, she had spent a great deal of time writing in them.

I peeled off my clothes and made my way to the en suite bathroom to turn the shower on. Peter, Em and I had just come back from a quick hunt, but hunting with them was never just a matter of feeding ourselves.

Emmett liked to play with his food, tackling bears to the ground or chasing his deer before snapping their necks. And Peter liked to try to, for a lack of a better term, steal food off my plate. As soon as I had my prey in place, he would attack me from behind and let my food run off, or he would grab me in a head lock and let someone else steal my food while we wrestled. He was a fucking sneaky bastard and if I didn't get my hands around him in just the right way, he would slip out of my grasps like a little greased pig.

Bella looked up from her journal and wrinkled her nose. "Hang those out the window would ya, I don't want that dead animal smell in here."

I scooped my shirt up off the floor and took a deep sniff of the dirty fabric. "Smells like food to me." I grinned

"Gross," she said, already back to furiously writing.

"What are you writing about?" I asked.

"Oh, this and that." I tried to peek over the top of the notebook when I leaned over to kiss her, but she slammed it closed. "No peeking!"

I laughed and kissed her quickly. "Will you be awake by the time I finish?"

Bella wrapped her hand around the back of my head and pulled me back down for another, deeper kiss. "Wake me if I'm sleep."

"How 'bout I just skip the shower all together?"

"No way, you stink." She shoved me back and opened her notebook again, effectively dismissing me.

"So, you got a lot of stuff written down," I prompted, digging around in the closet for clean clothes.

"Uh huh."

"Where did you start off?"

"What?"

"Did you start writing from when you met us, or some other point?"

Bella looked up at me with a curious expression on her face. "I'm not telling you what I write about, Jasper."

"No, I'm not asking for that reason."

"Then why?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering."

She seemed to think for a while before speaking. "I have enough of my life documented, so that at any moment I have to stop writing, I've got the most important things down."

Bella and I must have been on some sort of freaky mating wavelength, because she answered my question without me needing to ask it.

Satisfied with her answer, I went to take my shower.

I could hear her light snore when I turned off the water, and in the distance, I could hear part of my family moving around in the woods surrounding the house. I dried off, and not worrying about any clothes, slipped into bed naked behind Bella.

She was sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake her, but the way she curled herself around me as soon as I touched her, set my entire body on edge. I was hard as a fucking rock.

"Jasper," Bella whispered, still asleep as I slipped her panties down her legs.

I placed tiny kisses on the inside of her thighs, and then spread her folds open with my tongue, licking her from top to bottom. I knew the exact moment she woke up. Her thighs clamped down on either side of my head, and her back arched off the mattress.

"Relax baby, let me make you feel good," I mumbled against her aroused flesh.

"Oh God," she panted, digging her fingers into my scalp. "No, stop…"

"Stop…huh?" I asked, confused.

"I want you…inside me…" she said, pulling on my shoulders. "Please."

How could I say no to that?

I crawled up her body, placing kisses on her thighs, stomach and pushing the hem of her tank top up to expose her breasts. Her nipples were standing at attention, and I latched onto one with my lips while pinching the other. Bella slipped her hand down between us, and taking me in her hand, guided me toward her entrance. Next, she gripped each of my ass cheeks, pulling as I pushed myself inside of her.

Her head fell back into the pillows, and I gave her a moment to feel all of me before I started moving.

"Can we…just stay like this…forever?" Bella asked.

I pressed my forehead against hers as I grinded my hips into her. "Look at me," I said, thrusting into her. "Look at me."

She opened her eyes, staring deep into mine as I pounded into her. "I love you…so much…"

"….forever…"

"Forever," I agreed, and sunk my razor sharp venomous teeth into her skin.

* * *

**AN: ****Yes, I know it's short, but there's another one coming in the next few days...I PROMISE! So let me know what you're thinking!**

**tesoro = Italian for sweetheart, at least according to google translate. If it's wrong, don't spazz out about it.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Okay guys, a couple of things before we get into it.**

**1. FFn sucks big time. I tried to respond to as many reviews as I saw listed, but I don't know if they went through. I've been getting the email alerts on reviews 2 or 3 days AFTER they were submitted. So if I missed anyone, thank FFn and please forgive me. I do appreciate the time you took to leave me your thoughts.**

**2. Are you guys still reading, or is it just that the alerts didn't go out in a timely fashion? Let me know if you're out there.**

**3. So yes, Bella is now a supa dupa bad ass vamp. I'm not gonna go into detail about the burning, etc, etc, etc. You all know how the transformation works, and frankly, I couldn't come up with anything extra to add to it. I may from time to time give some attention to the nuances of Bella being a newborn and how she is adjusting to her new life, but I'm not gonna dwell on it. This chappie, however, starts off with Bella's first few hours as a vamp.**

**Something tells me that Jasper is gonna come up with a few creative ways to teach Bella her new vamp lessons.**

**Enjoy!**

**Cullen818 and JamesRamsey are the best beta's ever!**

**SM owns it.

* * *

**

**BPOV**

"I swear to God, Bella, I will tie you to that fucking bed if I have to!"

"You touch me and I will rip your fucking dick off!" I screamed back.

Since the moment I had woke up from my burn nap, it seemed like Jasper had turned into General Patton or something, ordering me around and barking commands at me. It wouldn't have been so bad had his voice not reverberated around inside my skull, making me almost dizzy. His voice sounded differently than everyone else, and at first it worried me. But Rose, Char and Esme assured me that it was supposed to sound like that- it was the voice of a male vampire speaking to his mate.

The girls also assured me that over time the sharpness of his voice—which by the way, only sounded sharp to me, to them he sounded normal—would start to lessen as we grew more attuned to each other.

Jasper took two steps back and ran his hands through his hair. Yeah, I knew that threatening his precious dick would get him to back off.

"Okay look, let's be reasonable about this," he said. "Let's start with one piece at a time."

I shook my head, staring at the tank top in his hands like it was something poisonous. Here I was, finally a super bad vamp, and I was afraid of a little scarp of clothing. "I can't do it."

"Yes you can." He held it out for me to take.

I moved along the wall of the bedroom, keeping a wide breadth of space between my body and what he held in his hands. My brothers were down stairs laughing at my situation, and my sisters were standing outside of the bedroom door practically dancing with anticipation to intervene.

"No."

"You have to learn to dress yourself, 'cause I'm not letting you out of this room dressed like that!" he yelled, pointing at the sheet I had wrapped around my body.

When I woke this morning I had been wearing tiny shorts and a tank top, but after a very unsuccessful hunt-that's a story for another time- I had ripped my clothes beyond what was decent, and Jasper had brought me back to the house to change.

He had spent the next ten hours trying to show me how to put on clothes without ripping them, but every time I took the flimsy fabric in my hands, I was overwhelmed with the way it felt between my fingers. I could feel every fiber and smell every chemical the manufacturer had used to treat the cotton; distracted, I ripped everything he placed in my hands and we had to start over again and again.

And I was now mentally drained.

So in an effort to just cover up, I had managed to get the bed sheets wrapped around me like a toga. My body was completely covered; it worked for me, so what was the big deal?

"What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" he screamed.

It seemed like I had a thousand different thoughts going through my head at once, and coupled with the sound of his angry voice and the murderous glint in his eyes, I was terrified of him. I dropped down to the floor, huddling in the corner of the bedroom, shaking and dry sobbing.

"Bella." Jasper took a step toward me and I screamed.

"Get away from me!"

The bedroom door crashed open and my sisters ran in.

"What are you doing to her?" Esme demanded.

"I didn't _do_ anything!" Jasper defended.

"You yelled at her," Char said, gently wrapping her arms around me. "Shh, it's okay, Bella."

"But she yelled at me first," he said.

"Really, Jasper," Esme said, giving my mate the 'mama stare down'.

Rose punched him. "You know you can't just yell at a newborn, Jasper," she chastised.

"But she won't put her clothes on!" he yelled back in frustration.

His voice was so loud in my head that it scared me even more, and I cowered further into the corner as if I were trying to be absorbed by the wood and dry wall.

"She's your mate, Jasper, not a soldier," Esme said. "And, if you're always yelling at her, she'll never trust you long enough to learn anything."

"This is not like before, brother," Char said. "You can't approach her like you would some random newborn you're training for battle."

"Alright fine, I'll be nicer. You three get out," Jasper ordered.

"Jasper-"

"Out," he said, pushing the three women out of the bedroom.

We started at each other from across the room. He didn't say anything, and I was trying to figure out what he was going to do next. I didn't want to be caught off guard if he was going to punish me, and I mentally began preparing a flight plan in case I needed to get away in a hurry.

"Are you going to hurt me?" I asked, finally tired of waiting to see what his temper would make him do.

"What?" he yelled.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming again.

"Bella." Jasper dropped to his knees and crawled to me, trying to appear less intimidating. "I'm sorry, baby. Please don't be afraid of me," he begged. "Why would you think I would hurt you?"

"There's like a million things goin' on at once inside my head; one second I'm yelling at you, and the next it looks like you want to hurt me because I can't do what you want me to do. And, there's this burn at the back of my throat that won't go away, and then you're constantly yelling at me on top of all that."

"I know it's all so confusing baby, I'm sorry. But, I promise I won't yell anymore," he said in a soft, husky voice and held his arms out to me. "And I would never, ever hurt you. Okay?"

"Please don't yell at me anymore, it scares me."

"I won't, I promise. And again, I'm sorry."

The sound of his voice apologizing ran down my spine and seemed to curl around the pit of my nether regions. I could feel myself getting aroused, and before I could consciously think about what I was doing, I launched myself at Jasper, knocking him backward onto the floor.

As soon as I touched him it felt like I was being slowly electrocuted, but in a good way. Every nerve ending in my body was on high alert, and every thought I had was now focused on the throbbing ache between my legs. The smell of my arousal running down my thighs was potent enough to nearly choke me each time I inhaled, and I didn't know how much longer I could go without having him inside me. I remembered how it felt to be aroused as a human, but this was a million times more intense.

Jasper must have sensed what was going on, because he didn't hesitate or try to pull away from me when I began ripping his clothes off. I was seriously like some animal in heat, and gentle love making was not going to satisfy me.

He flipped me over, and before I could take the next breath, he slammed himself into me. I screamed out so loud I think some of the windows in the house shattered. I clawed at the floor, my fingers etching deep grooves into the wood every time Jasper thrust into me. If I were still human, my spine would have snapped the first time he entered me. But somehow it didn't seem to be enough.

I arched my back, pushing my hips against his pelvis and matching his force thrust for thrust, begging him for more.

"Let everything go, Bella," Jasper panted. "Just feel me, don't think about it."

He pulled me upright, changing the angle of his thrusting. With one hand over my breasts, and the other between my legs stroking my clit, I felt the beginnings of my orgasm.

"So fuckin' tight…you can feel all of my dick, can't you?" he whispered in my ear. "Tell me how it feels, baby…tell me how good it feels…you feel like you're on fire, don't you?"

He was right, it felt like my body was on fire—an unquenchable fire.

"Yes…yes!"

He slammed into me, circling his hips. "You belong to me…"

"Yes…don't stop…."

"…and I belong to you…forever…"

And for the second time in less than a week, Jasper sunk his razor sharp teeth into my skin right as I came.

X-X-X-X-X

"Hey babe, you alright?" Jasper asked a few minutes later.

He had picked me up off the floor and tucked me into bed beside him, but neither of us had spoken since.

I laughed. "Are you serious?"

"What?"

"You just fucked me within an inch of my life, and you're asking me if I'm alright?" I rolled over and looked up at him. He was lying on his side with his head propped up on his bent elbow, concern written all over his beautiful face. "I'm perfect, and that was amazing."

He traced the outline of his scar on my neck. "I didn't mean to bite you so hard, I just got caught up and…"

"I'm not breakable any more, baby." I reached up and touched his cheek. "And it was all kinds of hawt and sexy."

He bent his head and took one of my nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and then lightly biting it. With a wet pop he released it. "Do you know how incredibly sexy it is to see your tight little ass in the air, begging for my cock?"

"Oh?"

"Hmm…"

"Tell me more."

He touched the tip of his tongue to the tip of my nipple again, toying with it. "And when both of your nipples stand up like this, I want to put both of them in my mouth at the same time and suck on them." He pushed my breasts together, licking and sucking on them both.

I could feel my arousal again, gathering between the folds of my pussy. I slipped my hand down underneath the sheets, but Jasper caught it in his and pushed it away.

"No, no no. That's my pussy, only I get to touch it," he scolded. "But if you ask me nicely, I'll fuck it for you."

"Jasper, please," I begged.

He ran his finger up and down my clit. "Please, what?"

My back arched off the mattress. "Please…fuck my pussy…"

With torturously slow movements, he fingered me. "Do you feel my finger on your clit, baby?"

"Yes."

"Tell me what else you're thinking about."

"W-what?"

"You feel me here," he flicked the little nub back and forth, "I want you to clear your head and focus on what I'm doing to you. Can you do that for me, baby?" he asked, his voice low and sensual in my ear.

"Ummm…."

"I'll know if you lose focus, and I'll stop finger fucking you if you don't concentrate."

"No, don't stop…"

I could hear our family moving around downstairs, but I blocked it out.

"Good girl," he cooed. "Now spread your legs wider for me, so I can see all of that pretty pink pussy."

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to train me to block out all of the background noise and the small nagging thoughts running around in my head and focus on one thing at a time.

But then I heard the TV turn on somewhere in the house.

He tisked, and stopped fingering me. "What are you thinking about, other than what I'm doing to you?" He asked, clearly upset.

"N-nothing," I lied.

"Bad girls don't get fucked, Bella."

I grabbed his hand, placing it between my thighs again. "I'm sorry, I'm concentrating, I promise."

He resumed his ministrations, even teasing me with his magical tongue. "Every time you begin a task, Bella, I want you to block out everything around you. Do you feel my tongue, baby?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, how many of my taste buds are licking you right now?"

"Huh?"

He withdrew his tongue at my question. "You don't want me to fuck you at all, do you?"

"Jasper-"

"If you were thinking about what my tongue was _doing_, and not, as soon as I mentioned it, how many taste buds are on my tongue, you would not have even thought about the answer to that question."

"I'm trying."

He shook his head. "Seems more like you're more worried about what Sookie is doing on TV, than what we're doing in here."

"No, I'm not. I-I'm focused only on you, baby." I stroked his cheek.

"Don't think about anything else then, think about how I feel pleasing you."

"Okay, I'm ready to try again."

He tried to hide his smile at my eagerness to play his game, but I saw it anyway.

"Close your eyes, baby, and relax. Tell me what you want me to do," he said in my ear.

I swallowed the venom pooling in my throat and placed his hands over my center. "I want to feel your fingers and your tongue, on my pussy."

He pushed my legs father apart and gently teased my clit with his fingers. "Oh baby, I've got a feelin' we're gonna have a lot of fun with your trainin'."

X-X-X-X-X

"Okay Bella, remember our lesson. Close your eyes, see the end result before executing the action."

Sometime later I found myself standing in the middle of our bedroom, stark naked with Jasper standing behind me instructing me on how to put on my clothes. We had decided to forego my underwear for now, just until I could master the larger pieces of my wardrobe first. Once I got the hang of putting my pants and shirts on, we would then work on the panties and bras. I figured that Jasper came up with this master plan only because underwear got in the way of his boobie gropes and sneaky fingers trying to get inside my pants.

I had been a vamp for little over a day now, and besides the short unsuccessful hunting expedition I had attempted the moment I woke up, it seemed like we had spent most of that time naked and fucking.

According to Jasper, play time was over and it was now time to get down to the nit and gritty.

_Oh joy!_

I accepted the shirt from him and lifted it above my head, all while trying to block out how the fabric felt between my fingers, the sound of the washing machine going in the basement, the light hum of the laptop Jane was using to do some online shopping, and the squawking hawk two miles away.

The shirt settled down against my shoulders, and I pushed my arms through the sleeves, _without ripping it!_

I opened my eyes at Jasper's gasp of pleasure. We didn't want to prematurely celebrate, but we both did I little dance at seeing me at least with a top on now.

_Yay_! Now it was time for the pants.

Jasper held the denim jeans up. "Same process, baby. Block everything else out and just concentrate."

I could feel my arousal again, and I heard Jasper stop breathing altogether. If we gave in to our lust, we would never leave the room, and I would never learn how to dress myself in anything but a sheet toga.

I took the jeans from him, gave myself a moment to adjust my mind to the way they felt in my hands, and then flung the legs out in front of me. Careful not to make any sudden movements that would rip the denim, I placed one leg at a time through the openings, then slowly pulled them up and over my hips. I had barely got them up when I felt Jasper's arms around my waist, lifting me and then kissing me senseless.

"Baby, you're amazin'!" he shouted. "C'mon, let's show everyone."

He pulled me downstairs, whooping and hollering as we descended, calling everyone out into the living room for them to see.

"Good going, Bells," Peter said. "Now if only we can get you to hunt, we'll be set!"

**JPOV**

"Damn it Bella! Get on your fuckin' knees right now and suck!"

"Suck it yourself, asshole!" she screamed back at me.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" Emmett yelled, suddenly appearing out of the bushes. "A man can't even enjoy his moose with all the yelling you two are doing!"

"Yeah," Char said. "You've been fighting for hours now. Give it a rest."

"She won't eat!" I protested.

"That's right, I'm not eatin' this shit!" Bella yelled and took off running.

As soon as Bella had woke up from her burn nap, as she liked to call it, we had taken her hunting. And it was a disaster. She refused to run after the prey and she fought me when I tried to force her to feed from an animal I caught for her.

Rose said that maybe she wasn't thirsty yet, and I mistakenly allowed her to go back to the house, where we ended up fighting about her not being able to put her clothes on and then fucking like deranged animals instead.

Bella had been a vampire for less than thirty-six hours, and she was already about to drive me insane. How the hell was I supposed to spend the rest of eternity like this with her? One of us wasn't gonna make it, and I was almost willing to light my own funeral pyre if it meant I could get a little bit of peace and quiet.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" Emmett asked, pointing down to the deer I had caught for Bella.

"Here, take it." I shoved the half dead animal to him. "I've got to go find my mate."

"Leave her alone for a while, bro. She probably just needs some space," Peter said.

"I can't just leave her out there alone, Peter."

"And why can't you? There's not a human around for another hundred miles or so, and she's not breakable anymore," Emmett said, breaking away from his meal long enough to speak.

"She just needs a while to get her thoughts together," Rose said.

"We all knew that Bella was gonna be a bit…difficult," Char said. "She may have to come into some of this on her own."

"She'll starve to death," I protested.

"She won't starve to death over the next few hours, Jasper," Peter said. "Trust me, she's gonna be okay."

I allowed my brothers and sisters to take me back to the house. I knew that there weren't any humans around for miles, and that there was nothing in the woods that would be a threat to Bella. But that didn't mean I was comfortable with just leaving her out there alone.

"Where's Bella?" Carlisle asked as we approached the house. He was sitting in the huge swing on the front porch with Esme's head in his lap, reading from a book of sonnets.

"She went for a walk," I mumbled.

"What did you do this time?" Esme asked.

"Me? Why do you assume it was me?"

"Because you've been yelling at that poor girl non-stop since she woke up," Carlisle said.

"I have not…I'm only…I'm just trying to teach her the basics," I said in defense of my teaching style. I sat down on the porch steps and stared out over the expanse of the front lawn.

"There's a human saying, 'you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar'," Eleazar said. "I understand that perhaps your own newborn training was rigid, maybe even unbearably strict, but would you want your mate to go through what you did, just to learn how to hunt or to put on her clothes?"

"These are basic things that she has to learn to do or…"

"Or what?" Carmen asked. "So what if she doesn't learn to hunt, or even want to on the _first_ day?"

"She'll starve!"

"Have you ever seen a vampire starve him or herself to death?" Carlisle asked. "No, because it doesn't happen. Instinct will kick in and she will feed herself."

"We're out in the middle of nowhere, son. So it's not like she can hurt anyone," Esme said.

"We told him that," Peter said, idly carving letters into a chunk of wood with his pocket knife. "But, just like Bella, I don't think he's listening to us either."

"I listen," I yelled. "I do; I've listened to all of you."

"Right, which is why Bella ran off into the woods by herself," Rose said. "She told you that your yelling was scaring her, and yet you continue to yell."

"You know she has a hard time concentrating on _one_ thing, and then you go throwing out instructions to her on how to track prey, tackle it and feed from it," Char said.

"All at lightning speed."

"Okay, okay! But how the hell am I supposed to do this?"

"I told you before, Jasper. She's your mate, not your soldier," Esme said. She stood and pulled Carlisle up. "We're going hunting. Stay out of the north woods if you know what's best for you."

I could feel the lust she was directing toward her mate. "That's just gross."

She dropped her hand on top of my head as they descended the front steps, pushing my hair off my forehead. "It wasn't easy for me at first either, Jasper. But a little patience and love go along way."

Carlisle kissed his wife's cheek and winked at us. "Don't wait up for us."

Emmett whistled, and shouted out a few obscene cat calls as our parents disappeared beyond the tree line.

"I should go find her," I said, standing up.

"Leave the poor girl alone, Jasper. I know you're worried about her, but she'll be okay," Eleazar said. He guided his own mate down the porch steps. "We're headed south. We'll be back before your cousins arrive tomorrow."

"Challenge ya to a game of Madden 11," Emmett said to Peter.

"Dude, you're going down!"

I sat on the porch for a while, listening to the sounds of my family. My brothers were fighting over the video game and my sisters were talking to Jane and Renata about doing makeovers for them.

Rose was trying to talk Jane out of attaching strands of hot pink hair weave to her pale blond locks, and Char was explaining the process of vamp hair removal to Renata. I groaned internally, dreading what that conversation was going to lead to; I could only hope the electric sander was broken.

The sun was low in the sky, casting shadows across the lawn. Carlisle had been chopping wood earlier, and had left the axe wedged in the wood cutting tree stump. I set up a few larger pieces of wood, and with one swing each, chopped them in two. Of course, we didn't need the firewood to stay warm, but it did create peaceful ambiance in the house, and gave us a good reason to cuddle with our mates in front of the fire place.

I paced myself with the work, giving my mind time to reflect on what had happened with Bella. My family had been right of course. I was pushing her too fast, overwhelming her with too many instructions and setting unbelievably high expectations for her.

I had never known a vamp to be able to dress him or herself on the first try. So why did I expect Bella to be able to do it?

I continued to chop the wood, stacking it against the house as I went. It was times like this when I missed being human; the feel of my muscles stretching, and the sweat that would run down my back underneath my shirt. I peeled my dry shirt off and draped it over the stack of wood anyway.

I could feel Bella before I could see her. She hung back out of the way behind me; her emotions were all over the place, but her self-doubt and worry of being a disappointment stood out the most.

My first instinct was to go to her and reassure her of my love and apologize, again. But I felt that she wanted to be the first to speak, so I remained quiet while I worked.

"I'm ready to talk now," Bella said, and moved out of the shadows of the trees.

I swung the axe down into the stump and stacked the pieces I had just chopped. "I'm ready to listen."

She sat down on the porch steps and motioned for me to sit down beside her. We were silent for a while, staring down at the bugs in the grass. I noticed the blood stains on her shirt, and a trickle of dried blood on her chin. At least she had fed herself.

"I can count how many blades of grass are in a single square foot of the lawn."

I nodded.

"I can hear a pair of elk…?"

"Moose," I corrected.

"I can hear a pair of moose mating two miles over that ridge over there." She pointed to the west. "And I can see each individual leaf on that maple tree over there."

I remained silent, allowing her to make her point.

"I can hear everything at once, and see the details of even the smallest thing from hundreds of yards away. And, it's so confusing."

She turned and looked at me with tears in her eyes that would never fall. "I want to be the perfect mate for you, but I don't know how to block out all the _stuff_."

"Babe, I don't want you to be perfect, and I'm sorry if that's what I was implying with all of my yelling. I just…want you to be ready in time."

"I will Jasper, but I'm not gonna learn it all in one day."

"I know, I know and I'm sorry. No more yelling, I promise." I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "I love you, more than anything."

"And I love—"

I growled, and pushed Bella behind me at the same moment I sprung to my feet.

"What about me? Do you love me too, Bella?" a man asked, emerging from the woods.

How the hell had he gotten that close to us without me smelling him first?

"Jake! Ohmigod, is that you Jake?"

Bella forgot that she was not a small breakable human any more, and ran towards her mortal enemy, launching herself into his outstretched arms.

* * *

**AN: Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Hey guys! Forgive me for not posting sooner; I've got a wicked case of writer's block going on, and was barely able to get this out. Please be gentle. **

**Thanks Cullen818 and JamesRamsey for rockin' the beta pen.**

**SM owns it.**

* * *

**JPOV**

"Bella!" I yelled.

I promised her I wouldn't yell.

But that was before she launched herself at an impulsive, uncontrollable wolf, who was instinctually set to rip apart creatures like us.

Bella wasn't paying attention to me yelling at her, and the only way to stop her was well, to stop her. She may have been a newborn hyped up on her own human blood, faster than the rest of us and for the moment twice as strong, but I had decades of experience behind me and above all, a fierce determination to protect my mate.

I ran after her and just before she reached Jake, I tackled her. We rolled across the yard and ended up with me on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Bella asked, angry.

"Saving you from being ripped apart by our enemy!"

"That's Jake, he's not our enemy and he's not gonna rip me apart!"

"What the hell? Bella, are you okay?" Jake asked, moving closer.

I knew the exact moment when his heart beat registered with Bella. She whipped her head around in his direction and inhaled deeply. Jake was no longer her friend, but her next meal.

"Fight it!" I said, turning her head away from Jake. "Please baby, fight what you're feeling right now."

"I can smell his blood," she whispered, licking her lips. "I want him."

"What are you doing to her?" Jake demanded.

"Jake, if you value your life, you will move away from us right the fuck NOW!"

"Hey, let her go!" he shouted at me.

Bella was starting to struggle with me, and I was suddenly afraid that she was going to either zap me to get me off her, or she was going to manage to toss me in the air like a vampire rag doll.

"Get off me!" Bella yelled.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Emmett asked, stepping out onto the porch.

"Get Jake out of here, Emmett!" I looked down at Bella. She was growling at me, teeth bared and struggling in earnest now; she thought I was trying to keep her from her meal. I tightened my grip on her. "Bella, listen to my voice and focus on what I'm saying. Jake is your friend, and even though he smells like a fuckin' dog who got sprayed by a skunk, you don't want to harm him, do you?"

She thrashed around, snarling and snipping at me with her teeth.

I shook her shoulders. "Bella, listen to me dammit! That's _Jake_ over there, and you don't want to hurt him!"

"Jake?"

"Yes, that's right, baby. Jake is your interfering, no shirt wearing, jackass friend, and even though I can't stand him, I can't let you kill him."

"I don't want to eat Jake," she said in a tiny voice which turned into a sob. "I just wanted to hug him."

"It's okay, it's okay, I know." I rolled off her and cradled her in my arms, making sure to keep a tight grip on her.

I held her while she tearlessly wept in my arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Why is he here?"

"I don't know, babe. But, I'm dying to find out."

X-X-X-X-X

I watched Jake through the living room window pace back and forth across the yard, kicking small rocks out of his way and angrily running his hands through his hair. He was mumbling about 'being too late' and 'fucking leeches stole my Bella'.

Bella sat on the edge of the sofa, clutching a pillow in her hands and concentrating on not ripping it apart. I promised her that if she could go two hours without ripping the delicate pillow apart, then I would allow her to stand on the porch and talk to Jake. She didn't know her own strength, and holding onto the pillow was her lesson in juggling two major thought processes at the same time—bloodlust and managing her superhuman strength. I was hoping that this lesson could have waited a few days, but I could see that I was dead wrong.

"How can he smell so good and so bad at the same time?" Bella asked. "I can smell his blood from here."

Emmett and Rose had suggested that she stop breathing altogether, but I didn't want her to miss out on an important lesson. If she stopped breathing, how would we ever know if she were ready to face the real world and all of its beating hearts?

I turned away from the window and knelt down in front of her. "I know baby, but you're doing great controlling your emotions and actions right now." She really was doing a great job. I could feel her nervousness and a touch of bloodlust, but not an overwhelming desire to kill.

She smiled, which looked more like a grimace, and reached out to caress my cheek. "Thank you for stopping me from killing Jake."

"No problem, babe."

"He stinks, but I would hate it if I was responsible for his death."

"What do you think he's gonna do?" Char asked. "I mean, from his one sided conversation, it sounds like he was coming here to save Bella, or take her from us. But now that she's one of us, we've broken the treaty, and technically, they could attack us."

"They won't attack," Peter said, coming in through the back door with Emmett.

"How can you be so sure?" Rose asked.

"'Cause it's just him. We ran a fifty mile radius of the property, and he's the only one here," Emmett said.

"He wouldn't have come here alone to take me away," Bella said.

"No, but he would come here alone to try to convince you to leave," Esme said.

At the sound of me yelling at Bella and her trying to eat Jake, Carlisle, Esme and Carmen and Eleazar had returned to the house immediately.

"After we met with the Council, he stayed behind to ask about you. We told him that you were fine, and that you were enjoying the Canadian outdoors, but we didn't mention anything about you being changed," Carlisle said.

"So he probably thought he would get here in time to talk you out of it," Carmen agreed.

"Well, what do we do with him?" Rose asked.

"We send him home," I said, moving toward the door.

"Wait, if we send him back to the pack, then won't they just bring the rest of them here? Like Char said, we broke the treaty." Emmett asked. "If they come, we'll have two fights on our hands."

"Let me talk to him," Bella said, carefully setting the pillow down before moving toward the door.

"I don't want you near him," I said.

"I'm not gonna suck him dry, Jasper."

"That's not the reason why I don't want you near him."

"Then why?" she asked, hands on her hips and giving me a look that suggested I'd better be careful with my choice of words.

I took a deep unnecessary breath and ran my fingers through my hair. No, I didn't think it was her intention to kill Jake in a moment of bloodlust, but at the same time, knowing him and his big mouth, he was bound to say something stupid to her, and Bella was likely to respond in a way that would inadvertently kill him.

If we thought the Rez and Pack response to breaking the treaty would be bad, it would be doubly worse if Bella accidentally killed Jake. There would be no way to explain that, and we would most certainly have two fights on our hands then.

I sighed. "You stay by my side, and if I think for a second that he's going to do something out of the way, or if I feel anything from you to suggest that he's gonna be your next meal, then we're coming back inside. Got it?"

She nodded. "I'll be good, I promise."

"Em, Peter, I'll need you two by our side."

I opened the front door and stepped out onto the front porch. Jake immediately stopped his pacing and started walking toward us, but I held up my hand to stop him. Bella was holding my hand in a vice grip, and she was even more nervous now than before.

"Just stop right there," I ordered.

"Why?" Jake demanded.

"Because Bella is a newborn vampire and she can smell your blood and hear your heart beating. Just with you standing there is making her uncomfortable. Do you want her to rip your throat out, 'cause I could really care less?"

"Jasper," Bella warned.

"Well, I guess I care a little bit," I mumbled.

He stopped and didn't move a muscle. I hooked my arm around Bella's waist and shoved my hand in the back pocket of her jeans. Emmett and Peter stood beside and slightly behind Bella, ready to help me hold her into place should the need arise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came for her," he stated.

He said it as if I was just going to say _'well why didn't you say so, here ya go'_, and hand her over.

"What do you mean, you came for me?" Bella asked.

He took a deep breath and started pacing again. Bella stiffened against my side.

"Jake," Bella said. "Stop moving and stand still. You're stirring up your funk."

Jake stopped and looked at us, offended. "I do not smell."

The four of us laughed before we could stop ourselves.

"What's the real reason you're here, Jake?" Emmett asked.

"I told you, I came for Bella."

"And what makes you think I would just follow you?" Bella asked.

"'Cause the last time I saw you, you were fighting this leech-"

"Careful," Bella warned with a low growl. "That's my mate you're talking about."

Jake looked back and forth between me and Bella and then shook his head as if the simple action would clear the cloud of confusion I could feel hovering over his head. His jaw tightened, and I could hear his teeth grinding together.

"_Mate_?" he asked.

Bella looked up at me and smiled and then back down to Jake. "Yes, Jasper is my mate."

"Wait a second Bella, you don't even _know_ this guy. You don't even know this family, and yet you let them change you into this…this _thing_!"

"What is your problem Jake? You knew this was going to happen," Bella said, referring back to the first meeting Carlisle and Eleazar had with the Council regarding why Bella was with us.

"Did they brain wash you? Is that why you allowed them to do this to you?" Jake asked. "Just say the word, and I can convince the pack to let you live. We'll only kill the Cullen's."

Bella growled and made a move as if she was going to attack Jake, but we caught her before she could take a step off the porch.

"You leave them alone, Jake!" she yelled. "You leave them alone!"

"Take her in the house!" I shouted to Peter.

"No, I'm not leaving your side," Bella said, pulling away from Peter's grasp.

"Bella, please-"

"NO!" she said with a bit more force behind it. "It's my job to protect you too."

"Okay, okay." I turned back to Jake. "Whether you like it or not, Bella is my mate…for eternity. We're _true_ mates, and nothing can break that bond."

"Carlisle and Eleazar explained to the Tribal Council what we were facing with Alice and Edward and Aro and the Volturi and you guys said that you wanted no part of it," Peter said. "So, I suggest you go back to the Rez, and forget you know where we are."

"I can't forget!" Jake shouted.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because…because you're my best friend," Jake said to Bella and stepped forward. He dropped his head and picked at the cuticles on his fingers before speaking again. "Yeah, I knew this was gonna happen, but I had hoped I could get here before it did."

"It wouldn't have made a difference, Jake," Bella said.

He shrugged. "Maybe not, but then at least I could have said I tired."

"Why didn't you come sooner then?" Emmett asked. "If Bella means so much to you, then why didn't you come sooner?"

Jake sighed and looked away. He seemed like he was struggling to find the right words and when he turned back to us he had tears in his eyes. He took a deep breath, drying the tears before they fell; he didn't want to appear weak in front of us. "Sam forbade me to come, and when an Alpha gives an order, it must be followed."

"So how did you come to be here now?" Bella asked.

"I broke away from the pack," he said softly. "I disobeyed a direct order."

"What's the punishment for that? Do they make you do popper scooper duty after the Pack or something?" Emmett asked, laughing.

"Ha ha, spoken like a true dumb blood sucking leech," Jake retorted.

"Hey, who you callin' dumb, mutt!" Rose said, joining us on the porch.

"Cut it out you two!" I said before turning back to Jake. "But they will let you go back, right?"

"It's not that simple, not only did I disobey Sam's order, I broke the trust of the Pack; I don't have a home anymore," he said softly. "I can never go back."

"And you were hoping that Bella would be your family," Peter said.

Jake nodded. "She's always been my family."

I felt Bella's despair, and before I could stop her, she was off the porch and crushing Jake in a hug. I heard several of his ribs break from the force of her arms, and his clavicle shatter from Bella resting her head on his shoulder. He howled in pain and she immediately let him go.

He fell to the ground in agony.

"Oh my God, Jake, I'm so sorry!"

I pulled her away from Jake as Emmett and Peter dropped to the ground to assist him. Carlisle was beside him in a blink of an eye, instructing them on how to move Jake into the house without causing him further harm.

"I didn't mean to do it, I didn't mean it," Bella cried over and over.

"I know baby, it's okay. He'll be fine."

"No, I killed him, didn't I? I killed him!"

"No, no. I think you just broke a few of his bones."

"Don't worry," Carlisle said, laying a reassuring hand on Bella's shoulder. "One of the perks about having wolf DNA is that it speeds up the healing process. He'll be up and running around in a couple of hours."

"See, no harm done," I said, holding her close.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Carlisle said before following Em and Peter into the house.

"Jasper?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"How do I get this funky smell off me?"

X-X-X-X-X-X

"No, no, no Bella. You've got to concentrate," Renata said.

"I am concentrating!" Bella insisted.

"I don't see how, that smell is even throwing off my concentration," Jane said.

Being a citizen of Volterra, Renata and Jane had heard of shape-shifters, but they had never actually seen one before. But when Em and Peter took Jake into the house, it wasn't the fact that we now had one of our enemies within our midst that piqued their interests, it was the fact that he had a heart beat and blood swishing through his veins. This was not only a test for Bella's bloodlust, but for them too.

In an effort to distract themselves from wanting to feast on Jake -_yuck!_- they took Bella outside for a lesson on how to use her shield. I stood at the window, watching them and feeling out their bloodlust.

"He doesn't smell that bad," Bella said.

"Uh, yes he does," Jane said, once again offering up her arm for Bella to try to zap.

"It's not the smell that's getting to me," Renata said. "It's the fact that I can hear his blood moving through his body."

"His very large body," Jane said.

"Umm, and did you see those muscles?" Renata asked, wagging her eyebrows.

Jane giggled. "Uh huh. Nice."

"Very nice," Renata agreed.

"Who?" Bella asked. "Jake?"

"Who else?" Jane said. "You'd have to be blind not to see the size of those biceps!"

I felt an odd mixture of lust and disgust coming off Jane and Renata.

Bella made a gagging noise. "Gross, it's just Jake."

_That's my girl!_

"Honey, he may stink like the dead, but that is one gorgeous man," Renata said.

The three women plopped down to the ground, lying back onto the partially snow covered ground.

Bella shrugged. "I've never really noticed."

"No?" Jane asked, twirling a blade of grass between her fingers.

"Jake is like my brother," Bella explained. "That would be like you noticing how cute Demitri is or something."

I growled before I could stop myself.

_Demitri_? Was Bella serious, she had a thing for _Demitri_?

Bella looked back at the house at me and frowned. She knew I could hear them talking, but the fact that I was openly eavesdropping angered her. I couldn't help it though, hearing my mate talk about another man set my jealousy on edge.

I felt Jane and Renata's lust spike at the same time, and if they were still human, I knew that both women would be blushing by now.

Neither of them said anything and Bella's curiosity shot up. She sat up and looked down at the other two women. "Oh my God, you two and Demetri?"

"No!" Jane shouted, sitting up on her elbows.

Renata sat up, a guilty look on her face. "At least not at the same time," she admitted.

Bella gasped. "What? Are you serious?"

Jane sighed. "Dem is like the palace roller coaster…"

"…everybody gets a ride," Renata finished.

I was laughing almost before she finished her sentence.

Bella shot me another dirty look that said I'd better get away from the window or else, so I moved to another part of the house. I could still hear the low hum of their voices from the other side of the house though, but Jake was now awake and I needed to talk to him.

I knocked on the library door but didn't wait to be invited in. Jake was lying on the leather sofa, white bandages wrapped around his ribs and his arm in a sling; he was feeling despondent.

"You ready to talk?" I asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

I pulled the coffee table closer to the sofa and sat down on the edge. "No, not really."

He shifted uncomfortably, finally deciding to sit up.

I gave him a moment to adjust to sitting upright before I spoke. "What are your intentions?"

"We already talked about this."

I shook my head. "No, you told us why you came here, but now that you know that Bella isn't going anywhere, I need to know what you intend to do."

"I'm not going to hurt her."

"I already know that."

"Do you?"

I laughed. "You may stink and you may be just a kid, but you're not stupid, Jake. You know that I would kill you in a heartbeat if you touched her in any way that she didn't allow." I could already feel the venom filling my mouth with the thought of ripping his throat out.

"I can't go home," he plainly stated.

"I know."

"I have nowhere else to go."

"I know that too."

"You're gonna make me beg?"

"You are a dog; that's what dogs do."

He sighed and scratched his head with his good arm. "Can I…_may_ I stay here?"

I pretended to think about it for a moment. From the second Em and Peter had carried him into the house the family had agreed to let him stay and Esme had immediately jumped online and ordered his doghouse, well, a new yurt for the back yard.

"By staying here you agree to help us fight," I said. I wanted him to be aware of the danger he was going to be in.

He nodded. "Yeah, I kinda knew that before I even left the Rez."

I extended my hand to him. He placed his hand in mine and I suddenly jerked him forward to the edge of the sofa.

"Then let's get one thing straight Jacob Black. You are allowed to be here for as long as _I_ say you can be here. And, if one hair on Bella's head is harmed because of _you_, then I will rip a hole in your body and hang you upside down from a tree so the buzzards can pick you dry. Got it?"

He nodded.

I could feel his fear and so I went on to explain.

"Bella thinks of you as her brother, but I know that you're in love with her. That's fine by me, I could care less what your feelings are just as long as you know where the line is and stay far enough on the other side of it."

The bones in his hand were starting to suffer from the pressure I was putting on them, but I didn't release him.

"She doesn't like it when I hover over her, or when my overprotective nature comes out. So that's now you're job. In the next few weeks, I may need to leave to do some recon work for this fight we're facing. Whenever she leaves this house, wherever she wants to go and I can't be there for her, you will be there to watch her back. And, if she gets hurt in any way, it's your ass. Understand?"

He swallowed thickly and nodded his head. "Yeah, I got it."

I released his hand and stood up. "Good. Tonight you can sleep in here. Tomorrow, we'll make other arrangements."

"Jasper."

"What?" I asked, turning back to face him.

"Uh, thanks. Thanks for letting me be a part of…your family."

"Yeah well, once you get to know us, you may just change your mind. Em eats like a pig and Rose hates just about everyone. Not to mention Peter is annoying as hell, and you'll probably never have another peaceful night's sleep with all the screaming going on."

"Screaming?"

I grinned, thinking about how I had Bella screaming a few hours earlier. "You'll see soon enough."

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**AN: Leave me love or hate, but please leave me something...this block is killin' me!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**This has been done for a couple of days, I've just been stressing over it. I don't like writing filler chapters even though they are important. The good news is, the next chapter is done and in the hands of my capable beta's, and I really like that chapter!**

**James Ramsey and Cullen818 are the best beta chica's ever!**

**SM owns it.**

* * *

**JPOV**

I hated running in snow.

It was wet and slippery and when it soaked through my jeans it weighed my legs down; and yes, even though I was running at superhuman speed, with superhuman strength, the extra weight mattered.

Some way, somehow I knew this was going to happen; I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

It had only been two weeks since I had designated Jake as Bella's bodyguard, and things for the most part were going well. Bella was still having a bit of trouble getting dressed in the morning, but it no longer took hours to put on her clothes. Her training was progressing and she was learning to feed herself without ripping her meals apart. And, I wasn't as anxious about her safety every time she wanted to go off to explore the forest on her own, because now she had a very large bodyguard to go with her.

But then the shit hit the fan.

I was in the process of reaping my reward from Bella after winning a rousing game of naked Scrabble, when Jake barged into our room.

"_Where do you think you're going?" I laughed as I grabbed Bella by the ankles and pulled her back under the blankets._

_She squealed and kicked out at me. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" She laughed._

_I pinned her arms to the floor and blew a raspberry against her throat, right before I slammed into her. "No way; if I recall correctly, we played double or nothing, winner takes all, and I'm not through with you yet."_

_Bella wrapped her legs around my waist, arched her back and pushed me over, straddling me. "You cheated on the second game, so that doesn't count."_

"_Jasper Whitlock does not need to cheat at naked Scrabble in order to win. I can't help it if your vocabulary isn't as extensive as mine," I said, rolled and pulled her back under me._

"_It wasn't the words you cheated with, you stole my tiles!" she accused and somehow managed to squirm away from me. _

_I caught her by the waist, flipped her over onto her stomach and pinned her body to the floor with mine, lying completely on top of her. Bella squealed and laughed, bucking her hips to try to dislodge me. _

"_I don't have sex with cheaters! Get off me!"_

"_Aww c'mon baby, please," I begged, then stuck my tongue in her ear._

"_Oh God, that's so gross!" Bella yelled in between her snorts of laughter while trying her best to punch me. But from the way I had her pinned, she could only wiggle a fraction of an inch either way._

_I threw my head back and laughed, then pulled her up on her knees, and right before I slammed myself into her again, our bedroom door flew open._

"_Jasper!" Jake yelled, and then let out a blood curdling scream at seeing my pale naked ass in the air. "Oh God, my eyes, my eyes!"_

"_Jake!" Bella screamed, grabbing at the blankets to wrap herself in._

"_What the fuck?" I yelled, jumping up and throwing Bella's clothes to her._

_Before I could even think about my own nakedness, I was across the room and had Jake pinned to the wall by his throat. Venom was running down my chin and I had to swallow a couple of times before I could even speak. "What the fuck are you doing in here?" I demanded._

"_Jasper, let him go!" Bella yelled. She was unable to get dressed in a hurry and had managed to rip her clothes in two. She tossed what remained of them aside and wrapped herself in one of the blankets. "Let him go!" She pulled on my arms, but they were locked in place, and nothing or no one was going to be able to get me to release him._

"_You'd better have a damn good reason for interfering or so help me, I will put your head through your asshole," I said through clenched teeth._

_Jake flailed his arms around, struggling to breathe._

"_Don't kill him, please!" Bella begged._

_At the sound of agony in her voice, I let up on some of the pressure I was putting on his throat. "Talk," I ordered._

"_He can't talk with your hands around his throat like that!" Bella yelled at me, still pulling on my arms._

_I released him and he fell to the floor with a loud thud, holding his throat and coughing. Bella pushed me away from him and made me pull my jeans on while Jake caught his breath._

"_I…need to…talk to you," Jake said, panting._

"_Well then talk," I said, standing over him with my hands on my hips. Just his presence was enough to get my hackles up and I was mere seconds from carrying out my threat._

_Jake looked back and forth between me and Bella. "In…private."_

"_If this has something to do with—"_

"_It doesn't," Jake said, interrupting me and eyeing my mate._

_He knew what I was about to say and didn't want Bella to know. The night before I caught Jane and Renata sneaking out of his yurt, both of them were half dressed and smelled strongly of sex and wolf- Jake- spunk. It wasn't any of my business what Jake, Jane and Renata were doing in that yurt, and in fact, it turned my stomach to even imagine what could have possibly went on. I ran for miles trying to clear the image out of my head. _

_I ran my hands through my hair and looked at Bella. She was eyeing me curiously and I could feel her worry; she was worried that I would still make good on my threat to kill Jake._

"_Give me a few minutes."_

"_Jasper, this is really-"_

_Bella grabbed my arm when I advanced on Jake. "Get. Out. Now." I pointed to the door. "I'll meet you outside in ten minutes."_

As it turned out, Jake had been out running patrol when he caught the scent of a strange vampire. He had chased him, but when he lost the scent about sixty miles from our property line he decided to come back and tell me. So for the next few nights we, Jake, Emmett, Peter and myself, each took turns patrolling the area to make sure we had no lurking visitors hiding out in the woods. I had made the decision to not tell the rest of the family just in case what Jake had initially come across what was a nomadic, roaming vampire; I didn't want anyone to panic.

And, we hadn't smelled, heard or seen a thing until now.

I gestured to Peter to go left just before I made the split second decision to go right. My goal was to circle around and cut our visitor off at the ridge.

Our visitor was fast, but he was no match for the both of us.

I leapt and landed on the back of the strange vampire; taking him down to the ground. The two of us rolled across the forest floor, knocking down trees in our wake, finally coming to rest at the base of a cropping of large boulders. On impact, chunks of rock broke off and rained down unnoticed on us.

Peter snatched the stranger off me and threw him up against the rock.

"State your purpose for being here, and be quick about it," I commanded, taking hold of the man by his scrawny throat.

"I-I have a message for the Major; that's you, right?"

"How do you know who I am?"

"Because she said you would be the one who would catch me."

"Who said that?" Peter asked.

"Maria."

X-X-X-X-X

It was a week later and we were down in the lower fields, training as usual.

"Get your arms up higher!" I yelled at Bella as Char grabbed her by the neck and flipped her over.

"My arms were up high!" Bella yelled back, jumping up and dusting off her clothes.

I strode over, grabbed Bella's arms and held them above her head with one hand. "You're protecting your neck, not your chest. The attack will most likely come from above, so you need to have your arms ready from up here," I waved my free hand in the general area above her head, "not here," I poked her collar bones. "You were perfect when we went over this yesterday."

"Well, that was yesterday." Bella snatched her arms out of my hold. "And, I'm really startin' to not like you today."

I turned and walked away from her. "Well as long as you don't get killed, I can deal with you not likin' me," I called over my shoulder. "Jane, your turn; attack Bella from behind."

"Wait a second, don't I get to rest first?" Bella asked.

"We're vampires, Bella. We don't need to rest."

"But we've been at this all day," my mate whined. "Can't we just break for a little while?"

"No. Why are you still standing there, Jane?" I snapped.

"Can't I just drop her from here?" Jane asked, staring at her nails. She was obviously bored with what was going on.

What the hell was going on with my family? Before I changed Bella my family had all agreed that we would spend the daylight hours training Bella to fight and then spend the evening hours strategizing different methods of attack or ways to eliminate the enemy without necessarily using our own brute force.

The first few weeks had gone great and I had begun to have a good feeling about all we had accomplished. But now it seemed like everyone was flaking out on me. Just that afternoon I caught Em and Rose sneaking off for an afternoon romp in the woods. Peter and Char were so distracted, openly groping each other, that I had to physically separate them, and on more than one occasion, Carlisle and Esme were mentally a million miles away; even Eleazar and Carmen had managed to disappear for a few hours.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" I asked, looking around at them. "We'll never be ready with this attitude." I had been hiding my worry and nervous energy ever since our visitor a week ago, but it was coming out now.

"We're just tired," Jake said. "And we need a break."

"Again, vampires don't get tired. Now get back to work!"

"Jake has a point, Jasper," Carlisle said. "We may not get physically tired, but we do need a break."

I took a deep breath and looked around at my family. "Fine, we'll take a break."

Emmett whooped and picked Rose up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Five minutes!" I yelled out.

"Five minutes?" Rose yelled. "What the hell are we supposed to do in five minutes?"

"Babe, I can make the earth shake in two!" Emmett shouted and disappeared into the woods.

"Jasper, honey," Esme said, laying a hand on my arm. "We've spent so much time on training and running battle strategy that I haven't been alone with my mate all week. Compared to you, Carlisle's pretty old, and five minutes just isn't long enough for him to get me worked over properly. So we'll see you kids sometime tomorrow. M'kay? Bye-bye now."

I gasped, not believing what Esme said. Carlisle laughed and followed his mate back to the house.

"That's pretty gross," Jake said, watching them leave.

I could only nod.

Bella slipped her hand into mine. "The afternoon off sounds good to me too."

"Bella, you are not ready for—"

"I'm going back to the house to get a blanket and a change of clothes, and then I'm headed over that ridge over there. Jake and I found a cave the other day while we were out hunting. If you know what's good for you, you'll meet me there."

"Hold on just a second Bella, we-"

"Meet me there or else, Jasper," Bella said and kept walking.

"Wait a minute, you're just gonna leave me here…with them?" Jake asked, looking at Jane and Renata with a cautious eye.

They were both projecting a heavy dose of lust, all aimed directly toward Jake.

I clapped a hand on Jake's shoulders. "Don't act like the three of you haven't been doin' the wild monkey already, Jake."

"They damn near killed me last time," Jake said, trying to hide a sly grin. "I could barely even walk the next day."

"Hey, you heard what Bella said. There's no way I'm gonna get caught up babysittin' you when my mate's out there waitin' on me."

"Um, you aren't gonna tell Bella, are you?" Jake asked, nervously.

"Jake, what you do in the doghouse, stays in the doghouse."

"I just don't think she would understand."

"I don't think she would even care," I said and patted him on the back. "See ya around, kid." I briefly glanced over at Jane and Renata. Their lust was stronger, and all I could do was shake my head.

"Hold on a sec there, brotha," Peter said, jogging over to me before I could leave to catch up with Bella. "Did you tell Bella yet?"

I ran my hands through my hair and looked down at the ground. "Not yet," I mumbled.

"Not yet!" he yelled. "We leave tomorrow."

"Don't you think I fuckin' know that?" I yelled back. "I'm gonna tell her today."

"Man, she's gonna rip your nuts off," Peter said.

"Why do you think I haven't told her already?" I asked.

"She doesn't like to be kept in the dark about stuff," Jake said. "It's best to be up front with her about things."

I growled at him; I knew that Jake and Bella were close, but I hated when he told me things about her like I didn't already know them. She was _my_ mate after all, not his.

Jake took a step back. "I uh…I'm just gonna go back to my yurt."

"Yeah, you do that," I said.

"Jasper, tell her," Peter said and ran off after Char.

X-X-X-X-X

I caught up with Bella a few minutes after she got to the ridge. She had stopped by a little pond a few hundred yards away from the cave and decided to go skinny dipping. I stood, leaning against a tree and watched her while she floated on her back, moving her arms in semi-circles beside her to stay afloat.

"Are you gonna stand there like some perv and watch me, or are you gonna get in?" she asked.

"I don't know, I'm kinda enjoying the view from here."

"Yeah, well if you get in, I'll not only give you an up close and personal peep show, but I'll let you touch too."

"I guess I can't turn down an invitation like that," I said and peeled my shirt and pants off, tossing them over a bush before I dove into the ice cold water.

Bella swam over to me and hooked her legs around my waist. "I still can't believe it."

"What?"

"Our skin feels soft to me, and warm."

I ran my hands up and down her back and then settled them underneath her, cupping her perfectly shaped ass in my hands. "That's just because we're the same temperature now. It's still cold from a human standpoint."

Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and played with the hair at the base of my neck. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

I walked her backward through the water to the edge of the small pool and pinned her body against a large rock. "Not in the last hour or so." I nuzzled her throat, placing tiny kisses up and down the space between her ear and neck. I could feel the tension in her body and I felt guilty for pushing her so hard with training.

"I love you, Jasper Whitlock," Bella said, purring when she felt my fingers probing her sensitive areas beneath the water.

"You just love me for my mad finger skills," I joked, finding the spot that I knew would make her putty in my hands.

Her head fell back against the rock and her fingers dug into my skin as I slowly caressed her. Bella closed her eyes and panted softly, her pink tongue running across her top lip. I leaned forward and captured her tongue in my mouth, sucking on it and stroking it with my own. But she was still holding on to a lot of her tension.

"Relax baby, let me take care of you." I stroked her clit with my thumb, slowly pumping two of my fingers in and out of her.

"That feels…amazing…"

"You feel amazing," I mumbled against her lips.

Bella ran her hands up and down my chest, but when I felt her hands wandering lower, I stopped her before she reached her goal.

"Whoa, wait a minute. Where do you think you're going with those?"

She looked at her hands and then up at me, confused. "Huh, what? Isn't it obvious?"

"No way, you're not ready for that yet."

"Jasper."

"No, Bella. You are a newborn vampire who is still getting used to her own strength. There's no way in hell I'm gonna let you _handle_ my sensitive parts just yet."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding? What if you get distracted and rip it right off?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "You're crazy."

"No, I'm serious." I shifted her weight in my arms, making sure to line myself up with her entrance.

"I'm not gonna rip it off," she insisted. "I just want to touch you."

I quickly pushed myself inside of her. "You can touch me, just not below the waist."

Bella gasped at my sudden intrusion, her head falling back on her shoulders. "That's not fair."

"I'm callin' it as I see it, and this is my preventative health care maintenance plan," I said, thrusting in and out of her.

"What?" she moaned.

There were times when Bella and I could make sweet passionate love, times when we fucked each other senseless and times when we had dialogue sex. This was one of those times; some of our best conversations came from moments like these.

"God, that feels good….babe, what if you, in a heated moment, suddenly got a little too frisky, and took it right off? If I prevent you from doing that, then I don't have to worry about my health later on. See, my preventative health care plan."

"Uh, right there…Jasper, what…um….oh yeah…I can't believe you've thought about this."

"Mmm…yeah…doing _this_ is usually the main thing on my mind."

"You're such a…guy."

"Yep."

Bella tightened her legs around my waist. "At least let me put it in my mouth," she whispered in my ear.

I slammed into her hard, pushing her back up against the rock and held her upwards, impaled on my dick. Bella yanked my head forward, devouring my mouth with hers as I palmed her breasts in my hands.

"Are you kidding?" I asked, finally pulling away from her lips. My venom had made slight enhancements to what I already thought was Bella's nearly perfect body; one enhancement being her lips. They were plump, red and completely kissable. I was dying to have them wrapped around my dick, but first things first.

"What, why not?"

I placed my palms on the surface of the rock on either side of her head, moving my hips in circles. "Razor sharp teeth; I think not."

"Jasper."

"One errant move, Bella; that's all it takes and you could make me a eunuch."

"Yes!" she moaned loudly with my movements. "But we can put it back on!"

"How the hell would I explain that to Carlisle? No, I prefer we wait."

"I'm sure it's happen to him before."

"I would rather not to think about _that_ while we're doing _this_," I said with a thrust of my hips on each word.

"So close…ummm…Jasper…"

I framed her face between my hands, pressing my forehead against hers. "Bella, I love you."

Bella pushed me away, just far enough to look into my eyes. "Baby, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, not wanting to ruin the moment by not only telling her I had to leave, but the reason why. "Just don't ever forget it," I said.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"I can't believe you kept this from me!" Bella shouted.

"Baby, calm down."

"Calm down?" She yelled, struggling with the sleeve of her shirt.

I took a step forward to help her, but the look she gave me had me backing up.

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down when you tell me something like this?" She ripped the material of her shirt and threw the pieces down to the ground. "Damn it, Jasper!"

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry is for when you break someone's IPod, or when you forget to take the trash out, not when you purposely withhold information from your mate!"

"You're right, I-"

"Of course I'm right!" she yelled, stuffing her feet into her boots. She snatched my tee shirt off the bush and threw it on over her head. "I'm going back to the house."

"Wait, Bella! Please." I caught her arm, but when she whirled around and punched me, I quickly let her go. I rubbed the spot on my chest where her fist connected. The girl could pack a punch! "Baby, please let me explain—"

"Don't you _'baby, please'_ me! You've had a week to tell me about this, and you decide to wait until the day before you leave to go meet up with your _EX_ to tell me! Fuck you!"

"She is not my ex!"

"Did you sleep with her?" Bella asked.

"What does that have to do with—"

"DID. YOU. SLEEP. WITH. HER?" she demanded.

"That was over a hundred years ago!"

"And yet, when she summons you, you go running like some lost puppy."

"You think I want to do this? Do you think I _want_ to leave you?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, you're still leaving!"

"I'm doing this to protect you!"

"You fuckin' bastard, don't you dare put this on me!"

"Bella-"

"I am so stupid," Bella said, slapping her hand against her forehead. She gave a short maniacal laugh and then a small sob. "I allowed myself to believe that you could love me."

"Stop it!" I yelled, grabbing her arms and shaking her. "Don't you ever say that again!"

Bella pulled out of my grasp. "Tell me, how does snuggling up to your _EX _protect me?"

"I'm not snuggling up with her," I insisted. "She has information about Alice and Edward that can help us."

"Have you ever stopped to think that this may be their trap? Maybe she's working _with_ Alice and Edward."

I shook my head. "Maria works with no one. She likes to keep the power all to herself."

"Right. So she's gonna just hand over information to you, knowing that when we defeat Aro and Alice and Edward, that you'll be the one in charge and _not_ her. If you don't want me anymore, why can't you just say it?"

"Bella, I love you-"

Bella slapped me, nearly knocking me down. "Don't you ever say that again!" She threw my words back at me and took off running, ignoring me when I called out to her.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"I told you to tell her!" Jake yelled at me.

"Look dog, I don't need you yelling at me too!" I shouted back at Jake. "We have to find her."

"We've looked everywhere," Peter said, bouncing up onto the porch. "If she's in her bubble, there's no way to track her."

I paced the length of the porch, yanking on my hair in frustration. I should have known that Bella would overreact like this. She was a newborn vampire with a hundred different emotions running through her at once. Of course she would think the worst first, and then realize the rationale behind my motives later.

"Jake, where do you guys go when you go off exploring the woods together?" I asked.

"Usually we head down to the lake; we found a few caves around there the last time."

I nodded, deep in thought. "Fine, head there now. I'm gonna go north, toward Lake Muncho and the hot springs. Em, you and Peter head southwest along the interstate."

"You don't think she'd go that far, do you?" Esme asked.

"I don't know, but if she's really _really_ mad, then that's the way back to Forks."

"You think she would go back there?" Eleazar asked.

"It's the closest place to home," Jake said.

"What do you want us to do?" Carmen asked.

"If she comes back, keep her here." I checked the battery life of the satellite phone. "I'll call you if I find her."

I took off running north toward Lake Muncho, and after about an hour of running I caught zigzag pockets of Bella's scent. If she were struggling to keep her shield up, then that obviously meant she needed to feed. And, we were in a tourist populated area; knowing that fact made me run faster.

Before I even made it to the lake I detoured; I knew exactly where Bella had gone.

I could hear her sobs before I even got there. The padlock on the yurt door lay in the grass, smashed and with finger indentations on it. Bella was lying on the bed on her side, facing away from the door but didn't move when I stepped inside.

I didn't want to say something that would upset her even further, so I just slid into bed under the blankets behind her, pulling her close and offering her comfort and reassurance with my body.

"I can't lose you," she mumbled. "I can't, I just can't."

I pushed her hair away from her neck and kissed her right behind her ear. "You won't, I promise."

"I'll kill her if she hurts you," Bella cried. "I'll kill them all."

* * *

**Leave me love or leave me hate!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**My beta girls are super because they got this back to me so fast: Cullen818 and JamesRamsey**

**SM owns it.**

* * *

**BPOV**

It had only been two days, but the one thing on my mind was Jasper.

I needed my mate; I needed him more than I needed to feed.

And, I didn't understand why he felt the need to go off in search of Maria. We argued about it, we fought about it, and in the end, he went off any way. Whatever information she claimed she had, I doubted whether or not it would actually help us. I was willing to bet that her intentions were not good and that there was about to be a blood bath of epic proportions. Well, maybe not a blood bath, seeing as how we didn't actually bleed, but the sentiment was the same. I would rip her fuckin' head off and shit down her throat if she harmed my mate.

"Hey Bells, whatcha growlin' about this time?" Jake asked, throwing down the Wii controller and looking at me with his eyebrows raised.

"I'm not growling," I said.

"Sure, sure. You wanna play?" he asked, nodding at the game.

"I'm not allowed."

"Whatdaya mean, you're not allowed?"

"Em forbade me after I broke the last three controllers. He said that I needed to learn to manage my strength first."

"Well Emmett's not here now, is he?"

"Em's connected to that Wii like Jasper's connected to people's emotions," Rose said, flopping down on the sofa next to me. "He'll know if anyone touched it, especially you, mutt."

"Rosalie!" Esme shouted from upstairs. "I said no name calling!"

"I'm just calling him what he is!" Rose shouted back.

"Well, I don't go around calling you a bitch," Jake snapped back.

"Watch it dog, or I'll get Jane to put you on your knees," Rose warned.

Jake licked his lips in an exaggerated manner. "Good thing she likes it when I get on my knees."

We all stared at Jake with opened mouths; you could hear a pin drop the house was so quiet. I shook my head as if to dislodge the image his suggestion embedded there; he was grinning from ear-to-ear and I knew that he wasn't joking. Rose made a gagging noise with her mouth open.

"I don't even know how to respond to that," Rose said, shaking her head. "I mean, that's just gross on so many levels."

"Jake, is that…safe?" I asked cautiously. From personal experience I knew that vampires and humans could have a sexual relationship, but I had never considered vampires and werewolves before.

"What?" He shrugged. "It's not like she can get pregnant."

I shook my head again. "No, I mean…I…I don't know what I mean."

"With all the screaming you people do at night, on top of all the lust your man-sized dildo puts out, can you blame me?"

"Jasper is not a man-sized dildo," I said, offended.

"Oh please, he puts out more lust than a nuclear power plant sending out electricity," Jake said.

Rose giggled. "That is true, Bella."

"Well apparently I'm not the only one benefiting from my mate's over active libido. You two scream more than those Rob Pattinson fan girls when he's got a new vamp movie out."

"Nope, you'll get no complaints outta me," Char said, moving over to sit next to me on the sofa.

"Or me," Rose agreed.

"Ugh!" I buried my face in my hands, thinking about Jasper. My chest hurt; the tugging sensation had begun as soon as he, Em, Jane and Peter had pulled out of the driveway two days ago, and it seemed to get stronger with every passing minute. I missed him and I wanted him back.

"C'mon Bells, let's get out of here," Jake said, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.

"Where are we going?"

"Let's go for a run."

"I don't feel like running today," I said, dragging my feet.

"You always like to run. C'mon, it'll take your mind off things."

"Go on Bella, the fresh air will do you some good," Eleazar said, taking my empty spot on the sofa.

"Hey Eli, have you heard from Tanya and the girls?" Rose asked.

"They will be here in a few days, and they're dying to meet you, Jake."

"Me? Why me?" Jake asked, turning back from the door.

"Well, they've never met one of your kind before," Eleazar explained. "And, without making you sound like a science experiment, you're quite an interesting creature."

"Oh, well thanks," Jake said, grinning brightly and running his fingers through his short choppy hair, pretending to fling it over his shoulder. "Did you happen to mention how incredibly sexy I am too?"

"Oh Lord." I rolled my eyes. "Get out," I said, lightly pushing him out the door.

"You two have fun," Carmen said.

"Stay near the house, though," Carlisle called out to us.

"Why?" I asked, turning back around. "Did Jasper tell you to make sure I didn't go too far?"

"No dear, Esme and I saw evidence of human hunter's the other day while we were out hunting. Just be careful."

"We will," Jake said.

"Jake, I'm really in no mood to go running," I whined once we were on the porch.

"Aw Bells, you can't lay around here all day, pining away for your man. Let's get out and live a little."

"We're in the middle of the Canadian forest. How much livin' can we do?"

"We can go down to that campground and do some human watching. You can pick out the juicy ones you wanna eat," Jake suggested, grinning.

The front door flew open. "Jacob Black, did you not just hear what Carlisle said," Esme asked, pointing a finger at Jake. "He said to stay close to the house. If I find out that you two—"

"Chillax Esmama," Jake said and bent down to kiss her cheek. "We'll be good, I promise."

"We won't go far," I called out as Jake pulled me down the steps.

"C'mon, let me get my old ratty shorts first, Bells," Jake said, headed toward his now permanent home.

"You seem to be adjusting well to living with a family of vampires."

He shrugged. "With a vamp mom like Esme, it would be hard _not_ to adjust. She cooks for me, yells at me, makes me clean my yurt, and she buys me all these snazzy new clothes," Jake said, brushing invisible lint off his designer shirt sleeve. "And she's a really good listener when I need to unload."

"She's the mom you never had," I stated.

Jake was silent for a moment, and I could smell a tiny tinge of salty tears in his eyes. I immediately knew he was thinking of his own mother.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Yeah, she is; Esme's great." He pulled open the yurt door, but stopped me before I went in. Jake grinned, signaling the return of his normal jovial attitude. "Okay listen, I've done a little bit of decorating since the last time you were in here."

"Okay, but why are you making it sound like a warning?"

"You'll see."

He stepped aside and let me pass. Esme had ordered the same style yurt for Jake as the one set up in the northern part of the Cullen property. She had purchased a few pieces of furniture to hold him over until he could choose a decorating style, and then handed over her limitless credit card, saying that Jake was responsible for setting up his home however he saw fit.

Jake grew up much like I did, raised by a man without much of a female presence. Sure, Jake had sisters, but they were both older and out of the house by the time he became a teenager. So keeping up with the latest home fashion was the last thing on his father's mind. I couldn't even begin to remember the number of nights I woke up on the old sofa in his living room with a plaid shaped imprint of the outdated burlap-like fabric cushion on my cheeks and the way the old Formica countertops in the kitchen stained when we didn't wipe up our Kool-Aide spills.

But what I saw stunned me.

There was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, a fifty-five inch screen TV housed inside of one of the biggest entertainment centers I had ever seen occupying one whole portion of the semi-circle wall. Giant speakers, taller than me, sat on either side of the entertainment center and there was a round, yes round, shaped purple velvet sofa sitting under the disco ball on top of a blood red shag rug. And did I mention the lava lamps, doorway beads separating the kitchen from the living room and the psychedelic paper lanterns hanging from underneath the loft area.

I had died and gone back to the 70's!

"Jake!"

"It's awesome, isn't it?" He jumped on the sofa and bounced around for a minute. "My bedroom is upstairs, but I wanted a comfortable place to crash just in case I fell asleep while watching TV."

I shook my head, not sure if I liked it or not. "I can't believe it."

"Pull up a seat; I'll turn the TV on if you want." He turned the TV on, flipped through a couple of channels before tossing the remote aside.

"When did you do this?" I walked around the yurt, taking it all in.

On the half walls under the loft he had a picture of the Beatle's album cover _Abbey Road_, a black velvet print of a fist in the air and a framed poster of Bruce Lee.

"Bruce Lee?"

He shrugged. "The one of Shaft was on back order, but they're both bad muthafu-"

"Shut yo mouth!" I said and we both fell out giggling.

"These yurts are pretty cool, ya know? This summer we're gonna peel back the walls on one side and have an open pool party."

"Who is _we_? And, I don't think this is the type of yurt where you can do that. These walls look pretty stationary to me."

Jake shrugged. "I dunno, Em suggested it."

"Besides, we don't even have a pool."

Jake grinned and reached over to the coffee table, pushing a stack of pool contractor brochures and pamphlets my way. "We will by April."

"Jake, please tell me you don't still have Esme's credit card!"

"No, I don't have Esme's credit card." He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "She gave me my very own."

I snatched the black credit card out of his hand, and sure enough, his name was emblazoned in gold letters across the front. "Oh my God, Jake!"

"Hey, I tried to give it back!"

"Sure you did, right after you ordered the large screen TV and the purple velvet pimp sofa," I accused.

"I'm serious, I sat down with Esme and Carlisle and told them that I couldn't accept all of this, that I was a simple boy with simple needs."

"And?"

"And Esme's one tough vamp lady; she insisted."

"So now you've got Esme _and_ Jane wrapped around your little finger."

"What can I say, the ladies go wild for my big brown puppy dog eyes," he said laughing, and blinking rapidly to show off his eyes.

"You're so full of it!" I laughed and tossed a bright orange velvet sofa pillow at his head.

He caught the pillow and tucked it under his arm, regarding me with a serious look in his eye. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Mind what?"

"About Jane?"

"Are you serious about Jane, Jake?"

He thought for a minute before speaking. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" I yelled. "Even though Jane comes off as tough and with that 'I'll crush you' type attitude, she's still very venerable and innocent, Jake. You can't just screw with—"

"I know that, Bella. Really, I do," he added when I cocked an eyebrow at him. He took a deep breath and roughly scratched his scalp with his fingers. "I think…I think we both just need someone right now."

I moved across the sofa and sat next to him, taking his hand into mine and lacing my fingers through his, making a conscious effort to not crush his fingers. Over the last few weeks I had accidentally broken more of his bones that I cared to remember, play wrestling with him in the yard, chasing him through the forest, and mistakenly slapping his arm or hand when he said something stupid. But he always smiled and bore the pain until he healed a few hours later. "Well if she makes you happy, and you make her happy, then perhaps that's all you need for now, forever."

He gave me a crooked smile and tighten his grip on my fingers. "You will always be my girl, Bells, no matter what."

I leaned over and quickly kissed his cheek. "And you'll always be my guy."

"Yeah, until Giganotosaurus Dildo kicks my ass!" He laughed and then playfully screamed out when I threaten to tighten my own grip on his hand. "Lemme go get my shorts; I'll be right back. And don't touch my TV!" he yelled, running up the stairs. "I don't want you breaking my stuff!"

X-X-X-X-X

"I'm gonna kick your ass Jacob Black!" I screamed as I picked myself up off the ground from the mud puddle he had just pushed me in.

We were racing to the small lake near the house, we were neck-and-neck and I was about to win when Jake suddenly turned in front of my path and nudged me with his nose. At the speed we were running at I stumbled and flew through the air, landing in the middle of the mud puddle.

I could hear his wolfish barking-laugher as he ran ahead of me, dodging trees and prickly bushes. Because it was late October, the sun was starting to set earlier every day, and knowing how overprotective the family was being since Jasper was gone, I knew that we needed to head back to the house before nightfall.

Ever since the day it became inevitable that I was to become a vampire, I had been waiting for the chance to kick some ass, to use my superhuman strength and to finally be free from fear. But here I was, super bad ass Bella, all vamped up and I still had to abide by guidelines and suggestions.

I heard two short barks, Jake's signal for me to move my ass and follow him. I wiped the mud out of my eyes, which ended up smearing it even more and took off after him. By the time I finally caught up with him he was back in human form, swimming in the lake and laughing at me.

"You should really wipe all that mud off, Bella. You don't wanna track it into the house and freak Esme out."

I shook my fist at him. "You just wait, Jacob Black. I'm gonna get you when you least expect it!" I turned around and stomped off, flinging mud behind me.

Jake caught up with me a few minutes later, back in wolf form and smelling worse than ever since he was still damp from his swim.

"God, Jake, stink much?" I said and held my breath.

He nudged my hand with his wet, damp nose, trying to get me to scratch his head. I pulled away from him, refusing. Not to be ignored, Jake ran around me in circles, swatting me with his huge tail. I caught his tail and being careful not to squeeze too hard, I gently yanked on it. Surprised, he yelped, turned around quickly and rammed his body into me. I fell and before I could get up again, he was on top of me, licking me in the face.

I squealed with laughter. "Aw Jake, gross! Get off!" I swung out at him, but he sprang up into the air and then took off running with a hoarse laughing bark.

I jumped up and ran after him, leaping onto his back and taking him down. We wrestled for a few minutes and because I knew I still needed to be cautious with exerting all of my strength with him, I held back a little, letting him flip me around. I ended up getting even more dirt caked in my hair, under my nails and just all over.

We rolled on the ground, and just as I pushed him off me, I heard several loud snarling growls, and neither of them were coming from Jake. I looked to my right and saw three of the largest wolves I had ever seen.

But they weren't regular wolves, because regular wolves would have ran from me.

_Werewolves!_

_X-X-X-X-X-X_

I didn't even have time to get to my feet before I felt teeth, just as sharp as my own, ripping through the skin on my back. Those same razor sharp teeth then sunk into the back of my leg. My fingers clawed the earth as I tried to pull myself upward, but I was being dragged in the opposite direction by the wolf. I kicked out with my other foot, connecting with the jaw on the horse sized wolf. My kick caused a sickening crunch and the animal howled in pain, released me and with another kick, I sent it flying through the air.

"Jake! If these are your buddies, call them off!" I screamed.

I jumped to my feet and crouched low like Jasper had shown me time and time again in our practice sessions. But with as many fighting lessons we had since I had become a vampire, nothing I had trained for could prepare me to deal with what was going on. Venom was running down my back, I had puncture wounds in my leg and one of my arms was barely hanging on at the shoulder; I could feel my strength waning.

Just as soon as I had gotten rid of one of the wolves, the other two, one black and one a strange reddish color, advanced on me. By this time, Jake had recovered his stance from me previously throwing him into the air, and he flanked my side, snarling a growling at the strange creatures.

The black one leapt first, going for my throat. The first thing I remembered was my mate's words, '_You're protecting your neck, not your chest. The attack will most likely come from above, so you need to have your arms ready from up here'. _Even though Jasper was envisioning me fighting vampires, his words applied to fighting off werewolves too.

And I was ready for this attack.

I could feel the electric current of my gift zinging under my skin. Jane and Renata had worked with me for days on how to concentrate enough to during battle in order to control it. I swung with all my might, slamming my fist of my good hand into the neck of the wolf and knocking it into a large redwood tree. The large beast let out a startled, painful cry and fell to the ground, unmoving. Because I was badly hurt, using my gift to drain the wolf had an adverse reaction on me, and I stumbled, nearly drained of my own energy.

Jake was holding his own with the other wolf; they were locked in a fighters stance, going around and around in circles on their hind legs. I took a step in his direction, intending to help him, but he let out a sharp bark in my direction, and I knew what it meant. He wanted me to get the hell out of the forest.

I hesitated, not wanting to leave him alone, but I had lost a lot of venom, and I knew that I would be more of a liability than an asset to him. The black wolf was starting to stir, so I took off running.

"Jasper…Jasper…hurts so bad….please….need Jasper…"

"Bella honey, you have to calm down and lie still," Esme said. "Carlisle, hurry up with that blood!"

"Jasper…."

"It's not working fast enough!" Char said. "The wounds are too deep; we're gonna have to used the human blood."

"No!" Rose shouted. "Bella's too new; if she takes the human blood at this stage it will only be more difficult for her to switch back to animal blood later."

"Then what do you propose we do? She can't keep losing venom like this!" Esme shouted in frustration.

"Pour the blood in the wounds," Renata said. She was holding my arm close to my body, trying to help the wound fuse back together. "Her body will absorb it faster that way."

"Yes! That just might work," Carlisle said. "And this batch has more plasma in it."

"Where is Jasper…I need Jasper…."

"Hold her other arm, Rose. Char, you get her legs and be careful of the wounds," Carlisle instructed. "This might sting a little."

I felt the warmth of the plasma laced blood filling my wounds, and all I remember was screaming before I passed out.

**JPOV**

"_Babe, I'll only be gone for a few days," I said, wrapping my arms around my mate for the last time before we left._

"_I know," she mumbled into my chest. "I'm just scared."_

"_Nothing is going to happen."_

"_You don't know that. What if she ambushes you and takes you prisoner? What if she takes off your feet so you can't run away? What if—"_

_I laughed. "Bella, listen to me." I held her face between my hands and bent down to look directly in her eyes. "I'm taking all the necessary precautions. The guys will be there to back me up, and even Jane is going. We'll be fine."_

"_Will you call me every day?"_

"_Every day, two or three times a day, I promise," I said, hugging and kissing her one last time._

I sat staring out the car window, thinking about my mate and what lie ahead of us. What we were doing was dangerous; probably more dangerous than either of us could imagine. Part of me thought Bella was right, Maria could be using this whole shit fest with Alice as a way to get me back. But the other part of me reasoned that Maria and I had nearly a hundred years of silence between us, and if she wanted me back, she would have concocted another way a long time ago.

I needed to find out what was so important that Maria would send one of her guards to find me.

"So let's go over the plan again," Peter said.

"We've been over the plan a hundred times already," Emmett said. "Can't we make a pit stop, I'm hungry."

He had been messing with the car radio for the last hour, and it was really starting to get on my nerves.

"You're always hungry," Jane said.

You're like a third of my body weight, half pint, so I wouldn't expect you to understand," Emmett said.

"Stop calling me half pint!"

"What should he call you then, Scooby snack?" Peter asked. "Is that what Jake calls you in a moment of passion? Are you his little Biscuit?" Peter puckered his lips and made kissing noises.

"Jake?" Em said. "Don't tell me you've been makin' bacon with the wolf!"

"Shut up!" Jane yelled. "You morons don't know a damn thing."

"Dude, ain't that like bestiality or sumthin'?" Em asked, laughing. "Gross."

But as soon as he started laughing, he was screaming in pain and clutching his head.

"Knock it off, Jane!" I barked.

"Tell 'em to stop laughing at me then!" she yelled back, pouting.

"How old are you people? Stop actin' like newborns!" Jane folded her arms and sat back into her seat with a huff and Emmett resumed his radio fiddling. "And dammit Peter, you missed the fuckin' turn off."

"I did not miss the turn off!" he argued. "We've got another three miles to go."

"How the fuck can you call yourself a vampire, and not be able to _remember_ the way there?"

"Look you dirty bastard, do you wanna drive? 'Cause I'll gladly pull the fuck over and let you lead the way."

"Stevie Wonder is a better navigator than you are. We lived at this compound for damn near fifty years; you used to miss the turn off then, and you missed it just now!"

"Both of you, shut the hell up," Jane said. "'Cause you're both wrong." She held up the GPS. "That road is under construction; we'll have to take the long way around."

"Ah fuck! I was really not planning on becoming barbecue today. How the hell are we supposed to make it through this with Queen Bitch of the South, if we can't even agree on the way there?" Emmett said. "Maybe we should go over the plan again, just so that I don't get my ass toasted before lunch."

"We're just here to get information. That's all," I said. "We're not shootin' the shit and we're not getting' chummy with anyone. Maria tells me what she knows and then we leave."

"What if…what if she tries something?" Emmett asked.

"Then I won't hesitate to kill the bitch."

The house was the same; a sprawling, Gone with the Wind type plantation with acres of green grass and unplanted crops. From the front it looked like so many of the other antebellum homes in Texas; white, two-story columns on the front porch, black shutters on the windows and red geraniums in the window boxes. There were even twelve large oak trees lining the drive-way.

I remembered those trees with disgust. Maria used to tie the headless bodies of the vampires that displeased her to those trees, and it didn't take much to displease the mistress. A female newborn slave had _accidentally_ looked Maria in the eye and in a fit of rage Maria had the girl's body burned while her head looked on.

Just thinking about some of the things that had gone on inside the house and around the property had me gritting my teeth and snarling with anxiety.

"Focus on Bella," Peter said. "It'll help with the memories."

There were times, like this one, when I was glad my best friend and brother just seemed to know shit. He was apparently having some of the same flashes of memories that I was. I closed my eyes at the horrendous memories this place conjured and centered my focus on my mate and her beautiful smile every time she looked at me.

Peter parked the car and we sat for exactly fifty-eight seconds before someone appeared on the porch. It was a vampire I wasn't familiar with. Of course, I really didn't expect any of my trainees to still be around. It was more than likely Maria had killed them all off since the last time I had been here.

"What do we do now?" Emmett whispered, like the man on the porch couldn't hear him.

"We wait," Peter said.

Except for Jane, I could feel the anxiety level in the car reach its maximum, so I sent everyone a dose of courage for good measure. I looked over at Jane and she was happily sending off a text, fingers moving at lightning speed across the tiny keyboard.

"What?" she asked, looking up from her phone.

And then I realized why she wasn't nervous or jittery in the least about what we were facing. For four hundred years she had lived with someone ten times more vile than Maria, Aro. Jane had probably seen things that would make a crazy person go crazy.

"Nuthin'," I said, and turned back to the house. We waited another three minutes before the man moved down the steps and approached the car. "We get out now."

"I am Damon. Mistress has requested your audience in the salon," the man said with a slight Cajun accent.

"No," I said stepping forward. If Maria thought I was going inside of her house, where all the memories were, where all the hidden rooms and vampires laying in wait were, then she was crazier than I already knew she was.

"No?" Damon asked, shocked.

"You're a vampire, you heard what I said. No, we are not going inside the house."

"Not them, you," he said pointing at me.

"The answer is still _no_. Tell your mistress that I will not meet with her inside the house."

"Mistress does not come outside in the daylight," Damon stated.

_Was that supposed to make me change my mind?_

I leaned against the hood of the car, pushed my sunglasses up on my nose and crossed my arms. "Well, she will today."

The bitch made me wait another forty-three minutes before she decided to come out. I was just about to tell Peter to forget the whole fuckin' thing and take us back to the airport when I felt pure evilness behind me. Peter gave off a sudden vibe of nerves and then he quickly composed himself.

"Jasper," she said.

I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath and turned around.

She was the same, of course; same face, same hair, same regal attitude, almost as if she were owed something more in this world than to live freely among the humans that surrounded us every day. But at the same time, she was different. There was a maturity in her eyes that wasn't present the last time I saw her. Maria still held her head up high, but with less of a cocky tilt than she used to sport.

"Maria," I said with a slight nod.

"Will you walk with me?" she asked, holding out her hand to me.

I hesitated.

"Just out toward the pasture," Maria clarified, sweeping her hand out to the east side of the house.

I nodded.

Peter and Emmett stepped forward, as if to follow, but I held up my hand to stop them. If Maria was planning something, they would still be within earshot, and could aide me if needed. Wordlessly, they both stepped back toward the car.

We walked in silence for a few minutes.

"You've changed," she said. "You're…happier."

_Yeah, not being forced to kill everyday does that to a vamp_, I thought.

"My mate has changed me."

"Isabella," Maria said. "I must say, she is a beautiful human. I can only imagine what she looks like now that she has been changed."

Hearing my mate's name on her lips set me on high alert, and I was snarling before I knew it. I grabbed her wrist, holding it tight in my hand. "What do you know of my Bella?" I demanded, pushing her back up against the pasture fence.

"Relax Jasper, I mean her no harm," she said, laying her other hand on my arm. Fortunately for her, I could tell that she was telling the truth. "Alice told me about her, and I was able to see her through Edward's eyes."

I flung her wrist away and stepped back. "What the hell does that mean, through Edward's eyes?"

"I have a servant who is able to pluck the memories out of your mind and project them onto someone else. The images are as clear as if you're seeing them for yourself. Nessie saw Bella in Edward's memories and showed them to me."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Why did you ask for me to come here?"

She smiled. "Would you believe it if I said that I missed you, and just wanted to see you?"

"I know that you're not that stupid, Maria. You wouldn't call me here just to see you, knowing that I can kill you before you can even blink for such a lame ass reason."

One of Maria's male servants stepped out from behind one of the large oak trees, growling at my threat to his mistress. Maria held up her hand, telling him to stand down.

"You're an empath, but you can't tell when I'm joking?" she asked, smiling at me.

"I've know you for a lot of years, Maria, and the one thing you don't do is joke. Now tell me why the hell you felt the need to send one of your lowly minions to my house with a message that it was imperative for you to speak to me?" I rubbed my chest; it had been hurting ever since the moment I left Bella's side.

She took a deep breath, turned and walked away a few paces before turning back to me. "Alice and Edward came here."

"Yeah, you said that already," I said, impatiently.

"She wanted me to join with her, against you."

I shrugged. "That's no surprise."

"I told her I would think about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Maria, I don't care what you decide. If that's all you had to tell me, then I'm leaving." I turned to walk away.

"She has Richard."

I stopped walking.

If I had blood, it would be running cold in my veins.

I could hear Peter swear under his breath, and Jane mumbling something to Emmett.

"Richard has joined with Alice."

"Richard?" I asked, turning back around. "That's impossible; I killed Richard nearly eighty years ago."

Maria shook her head. "You remember his mate, Malinda? She saved him."

I stomped back over to Maria, leaning down to her level. "Saved him how? I ripped his arms off and set them on fire, right before I lit the rest of his ass up like a roman candle!"

Maria took two steps back. "I can't explain it because I don't know how she did it, but somehow she dragged parts of his body out of the fire before the flames consumed him, and for a lack of a better term, pieced him back together."

"What do you mean, pieced him back together? You can't piece ashes back together!"

Maria shoved her hands in her hair, tugging at the roots. "He's a hybrid vampire; he's made up of parts from other vampires."

"That's not possible!"

"Yes it is." She vigorously nodded her head. "Like Frankenstein."

"This is crazy! You call me here to try to sell me some bullshit like this?"

"Think about it for one second, Jasper!" She took a step forward. "When you changed your mate, Isabella, you sealed the wound with venom, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

She grabbed my forearms, holding me in place. "Our venom can heal not only human skin, but our own skin. When a vampire solider was hurt in battle, really hurt, what was the first thing we used to do?"

"We killed them."

"No…well, not if it was a valuable solider. We would give them blood to produce enough venom to fuse his wounds back together. And, if that didn't work, we would pour blood directly into the wound."

I shook my head; I had no idea what she was talking about. "_We_ never saved vampires. _We _always got rid of the 'excess baggage', remember?"

She nodded, realizing the truth of what I said. "After you and Peter left me, I had to improvise."

"You mean you couldn't kill every vamp that displeased you or made you mad, so you had to start savin' some of 'em."

She dismissed my statement with a wave of her hand. "My point is, you remember where Richard came from, right?"

_How could I forget? _

Richard was perhaps the craziest vampire –outside of Alice and Maria—that I had ever had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting. Before he was changed, Richard was a violent schizophrenic mental patient with a surly disposition. Instead of getting caught by the looney bin police, he got mixed up with the wrong group of vampires, who he somehow convinced to not kill him, but to change him.

The venom in his system didn't cure his mental condition, but apparently made it worse and he ended up killing his new vamp family. Not having the stability of a family, Richard became a nomad, that is, until he wandered onto the plantation a hundred years ago, setting my soldiers on fire –from inside their minds- with his pyrokinetic gift. After touching them, he could but look at a vamp and the top of their heads would explode into flames.

I toed the ground with my boot, kicking small rocks. "Yeah, I know his background."

"Well, because he has parts of other vampires fused into him, he's stronger than before."

I looked up from the circles I was drawing in the dust. "How much stronger?"

"Now, he doesn't have to touch you to be able to kill you, all he has to do is look at you."

I looked at Maria, letting her words wash over me. "And now he's looking to kill me."

"No."

"No?"

"He's looking to kill Isabella."

I grabbed Maria by the throat and slammed her against the nearest tree. Peter, Emmett and Jane ran toward me, screaming at me to let her go. But before I could release her, a swarm of her minions surrounded me.

Jane brought a few of them to their knees with her gift, but was unable to hold them all off. Peter and Emmett stood back-to-back with me, crouched low and growling at the rest of them.

"Stand down!" Maria yelled at her people. "Get back to work! And let me go, Jasper." She pushed me off her.

I hadn't really meant to react the way I did, but the way she said my mate's name angered me, and Maria knew that by the lack of force I used to pin her to the tree. She brushed off her shirt, popping the collar back up.

"He's out for revenge?" I said, pacing. "Is that what this is?"

"He wants you to suffer, much like his own mate has."

"I'll kill him! I'll kill him before he can even get the chance to _smell_ Bella!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Peter asked. "He'll kill you the minute he sees you coming, and then she'll be fair game."

I shook my head, still pacing. "I'll find a way."

"I have a way," Maria said.

I stopped pacing. So this was it. This was why Maria sent one of her slaves to find me. She wanted to present the danger and then dangle the solution in front of me until I promised to give her what she wanted.

"What is it?" I asked, cautiously.

"My servant, Nessie is the equivalent of an antidote."

"What do you mean?" Emmett asked. "Antidote?"

"I told you that she projects memories," Maria said.

"And she can project a memory to this Richard that makes it seem like he's looking at something else, while you kill him," Jane answered.

"Exactly," Maria confirmed. She smiled, coy like and shy, and then stepped toward me, running her finger up my chest. The cocky tilt of her head was back; the old, conniving Maria was coming out. "And I'll give her to you."

I pushed her hand away. "For what in exchange?"

"Isabella. You break your bond with her, mate with me and she stays safe."

This time Peter caught me before I could get my hands around her throat. "You're fuckin' crazy!"

"Just think about it, Jasper. Would you rather have Bella safe and alive even without you, or would you rather see her burst into flames, knowing you could have done something about it? Seeing your lover burn to death." She shook her head and _tisked_. "What an image that will be to reflect on for the rest of your life, eh?"

I pushed Peter off me. "Maria, I got two words for ya. FUCK OFF!"

And I turned and walked away.

* * *

**Love it? Hate it?**

**I really liked writing this chapter, let me know what you think!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**Many thanks to my lovely betas, Cullen818 and JamesRamsey, who has been swamped with RL. **

**This chapter picks up directly where the last one left off.**

**SM rocked it first!**

* * *

**JPOV**

"As soon as he sees her, he'll start to burn her," Maria said, following me. "At first, it will be a headache, like one she may have had while still human. But then, it will start to hurt worse, and she'll actually cry venom it will hurt so badly.

Maria grabbed my arm and yanked me back around to face her. "You'll want to give her blood, to ease the pain. But you'll be too busy trying to fight off all the other vampires Alice and Edward have recruited, not to mention the Guard. By the time you have a spare moment to tend to her, her hair will be singed off, and her face will be melting. I've seen him do it over and over again; he can control the intensity of it, the speed of it, and believe me, you don't want to see it done to someone you _think_ you care about."

I yanked my arm out of her grasp. "Well then, I wonder if I can get him to do it to you too, 'cause I don't give a fuck about you!"

Maria slammed shut the car door I had just opened. "You're making a mistake, Jasper!"

I ignored my ringing phone and whirled around to face Maria. "The only mistake I made was coming here."

"What does Isabella know about ruling the vampire world? Nothing! I know how to manage vampires. I know how to make them submit to my will. Can your _Isabella _do that?"

I didn't like the way she said my mate's name, almost like she was spitting out the word. I grabbed her by her throat again, and this time I meant it when I squeezed. "Don't you ever say her name again," I said, through clenched teeth and then threw her backward.

Maria flipped her body in mid-air, landed on her feet and came at me again. "She was a pitiful human before she ran into you, and she'll be a pitiful _dead_ vampire _because_ of you! Do you want that on your conscious?"

"Let's go, Peter," I said, ignoring Maria, and snatched open the car door again.

But Maria kept talking, and my phone kept ringing, and I was really starting to lose it.

"The fire Richard starts in her brain can't be put out by water, Jasper."

"Shut up!"

"Those beautiful lips of hers, the one's you have her sucking your cock with, the one's Edward imagines how they would feel sucking his cock, will be gone," she taunted.

"Maria, shut up. Peter, start the fuckin' car already," I yelled and pulled my phone out of my pocket, answering it with a bark without even looking at the caller-id. "What?"

"She'll be nothing but ashes!" Maria screamed.

"Jasper!" Carmen yelled.

I could hear screams in the background; Bella calling my name in pure agony.

"Carmen? What-"

"You have to come home now!" Carmen yelled. "Bella's –"

More screams.

"What's wrong with Bella, Carmen?" I yelled down into the phone.

"Wow, she's a screamer," Maria said, laughing.

"Carmen?"

"Is she so needy that she has to go into a screaming rage to get you to come back home? Pathetic," she spat out.

At hearing Bella screaming, my chest exploded in pain; I staggered and nearly fell to the ground before I could even get in the car.

"What happened?" Jane asked, immediately at my side.

"Jasper, what is it?" Emmett asked, pulling the phone out of my hand.

"Carmen, Carmen, its Emmett. What-"

"Come home, Jasper!"

And then the line went dead.

I stared at the phone, willing it to ring again.

A thousand different thoughts went through my head. Why was Bella screaming my name in pain? What the hell had happened? What about the rest of the family? Were they under attack from Aro?

Or worse, was it Richard?

And when I looked up from the phone, Maria was laughing, cackling like a witch.

Did the bitch know this was going to happen? Is that why she asked me to come all the way to Texas, to get me out of the way so that her cronies could kill my family? Did she set me up?

And before I knew it, I had Maria's head in my hands.

Without her body attached.

I was numb.

I heard screaming.

I felt Peter shove me in the car.

I saw Maria's minions; some of them were putting their mistress back together and some of them were running after us.

Emmett was calling the pilot, telling him to be ready as soon as we made it to the small airport hangar.

But all I could focus on was the way Bella sounded screaming my name.

X-X-X-X-X

Peter picked me up out of the leather airplane seat and all but carried me down the steps to the tarmac. He shoved me in the car, another car, once again, and then slid into the driver's seat. Since Carmen's call, I hadn't uttered a sound except Bella's name, mumbling it over and over. I knew I needed to snap out of whatever catatonic state I had slipped into, but for some reason, I couldn't wake my brain up.

Jane held my hand, her tiny one dwarfed within my larger one. She was trying to hide her crying sniffles from me, but I saw them anyway. And, I think that that was what finally started bringing me back around.

The house was eerily silent when we pulled up into the driveway a few hours later. The light in our bedroom was on, casting odd shaped shadows on the ground. Part of me wanted to run into the house, find Bella and wrap her in my arms, promising to never let her go. The other part of me was scared shitless. I knew she was alive; I could feel her pain. But how bad was she?

Carlisle was the first one to approach us when we walked through the front door. He grabbed my arm, restraining me. I tried to push him away, but he held on to me with an unusual amount of force.

"How is she? What happened? Where was Jake? How bad is it?" I asked.

"You need to stay calm, Jasper," Carlisle said.

"Was it Richard? Did he hurt her?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Who is Richard?"

"Maybe you should start at the beginning," Peter said to Carlisle. "What happened?"

"They were attacked."

"Attacked!" I screamed, yanking on my hair.

"By nomads?" Emmett asked. "Why would nomads attack Bella and Jake?"

"No, not nomads," Carlisle said.

"Werewolves," Eleazar said.

"Let me go!" I yelled. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill him!"

Peter was hanging on one arm and Emmett was hanging on the other. Carlisle was standing in front of me, pushing me backward, trying to hold me back.

"Jasper, it was not his fault!" Esme yelled, standing in the doorway with her arms outstretched between the door frame.

Like she could keep me in the house like that.

Like any of them could keep me from ripping his head off.

"Werewolves, Esme! And it's not his fault? He led them to us! He fuckin' lied to me and my mate was nearly killed!"

"No, you got it all wrong! He doesn't know them," Carlisle said.

"Bullshit! Dogs travel in packs, don't they? His pack attacked my mate, and you all are defending him?"

"You don't know the whole story, Jasper," Eleazar said.

"I don't need the whole fuckin' story to know that someone is going to die! Let me go!"

"Please, concentrate on helping Bella!" Carmen pleaded with me. "More violence is not going to help."

"It'll make me feel better! Get the fuck outta my way, Carlisle!"

"Jasper…"

I heard my mate call out to me and I immediately stopped struggling. "Bella."

"She needs you, go to her," Carmen said.

Peter and Emmett released the hold they had on my arms when they saw that I was no longer concerned with killing Jake- at the moment- and Carlisle stepped back.

"How bad is she?" I asked Carlisle again.

"She's weak and she's scared, but her wounds are healing."

"How bad are her wounds?"

Carlisle looked away and then back at me. For a second, he looked like all of his three hundred plus years had caught up with him. "Bad."

X-X-X-X-X

Rose and Char were lying in bed beside my Bella. She had her eyes closed, and if I hadn't been the one who changed her, I would have sworn she was a sleeping human.

They slipped off the bed as I approached, warning me to check my temper and to be gentle with her. I took a deep breath and slowly approached the bed, leaning over it to look down at my mate.

As soon as I touched her beautiful face with my fingers, her eyes opened.

"Jasper," she whispered. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah baby, it's me."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "I did what you said; I made sure to keep my arms up." She smiled faintly and reached up to cover my hand with her own.

I eased down on to the bed, being careful not to jar her too much, and fit my body behind her, spooning her. "That's great baby." I laced my fingers through hers and held our joined hands close to her heart.

"We'll have matching scars now." She laughed a little, nervous.

I kissed her bare shoulder at the edge of the tank top she was wearing, noting the four fresh, jagged scars that started at the top of her shoulder. I wondered how far down they went. "It doesn't matter."

"Please don't leave me again," she begged.

"Baby, I won't let you out of my sight for a second."

"I was so scared…I…I thought as soon as I got changed I was gonna be this major badass vamp… I guess not."

"Baby, you're still a badass vamp in my book. And, sexy too."

She turned to face me. "Will you make love to me, Jasper? I… I just need to feel close to you."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"It doesn't hurt any more, now that you're here." Bella tugged on the hem of my tee shirt, pushing it up and over my head.

I did the same to her, pulling the small tank top up, but when I moved to unhook it off her shoulder, she winced.

"Bella-"

"It's okay, I'm fine," she insisted, unbuckling my belt and sliding down the zipper on my jeans.

I stopped her hands, holding them still while I looked into her eyes. There was a tiny spark of life glowing in her reddish orange eyes, but the exhaustion I felt from her was prevalent in them as well. She had a long way to go to build back her strength.

But, if my mate needed physical reassurance from me, then I was not going to deny her.

I turned her over onto her side again, her good shoulder against the mattress, and pulled down the tiny multi-colored sleep shorts she was wearing. Next, I wiggled out of my own jeans, tossing them aside.

We both sighed in relief when we could feel our skin against each others.

Even in the dim light of the bedside lamp, I could see her scars. They started at the top of her shoulder, and ran all the way down her back on her left side, ending at her hips, right above the small dimple on her lower back. There were puncture wounds from what I guessed were the canine teeth of the wolf on the lower half of her leg, and then four more scars, about five inches long on her calf muscle.

"Jasper," Bella said, turning her head to stare at me.

I felt a tiny sliver of her insecurity; she was feeling self conscious about her scars, and worried that I would be repulsed by them. Instead of telling her I thought she was still beautiful, that the fact that she took my breath away every time I looked at her, I kissed each scar, running my lips and tongue over each one.

And, after making sure that she no longer doubted my love or continuous attraction for her, I lifted her leg over mine and entered her. We clung to each other, and I promised her over and over that I would never leave her side again.

X-X-X-X-X

He knew I was mad.

And he was right.

The only reason I hadn't disemboweled him was because Bella was sitting beside me, tucked under my arm with her fingers entwined in mine and I didn't want her to witness the death of her best friend.

_Ex-_best friend.

I say ex-best friend, because I was putting my foot down; Jake had to go or I was going to kill him.

"Start at the beginning, and tell us what happened," Carlisle said.

It didn't matter what _had_ happened, I knew what was _going_ to happen.

"We were racing through the woods toward the small lake when Jake pushed me into a mud puddle," Bella said. "By the time I caught up with him, he was already there and swimming but it was getting dark, so I turned to come back home. On the way back, Jake and I started wrestling, like we always do, and as soon as I threw him off me, they attacked."

"They who?" Emmett asked.

"The wolves," Jake said, not looking up from the edge of the pillow he was picking at. He was scared and nervous.

_Good!_

"From your pack?" Eleazar asked.

Jake quickly shook his head. "I don't know who they are; I've never seen them before."

"How do you _not_ know who they are?" I demanded, jumping up. "They had your same brand of funk, didn't they?" I moved toward him, but Bella grabbed my hand, pulling me back.

"Jasper, let's hear the rest of the story," Carlisle said, stepping in between us.

"You brought them here, you knew that Bella would have a soft spot for you and take you in with that sad sob story of yours, didn't you?" I yelled.

"Jasper, stop!"

"It was your plan all along! When you found out that Bella had already been changed, you decided right then that you would kill the rest of us out of revenge, and you started with her!"

"Jasper, please," Bella begged, pulling on my arm.

Peter and Emmett jumped into the middle of the foray, trying to put some distance between me and the dog.

"Calm down, man," Peter said.

"This is not helping, Jasper," Esme said. "Jake said that he doesn't know the other wolves."

"Yeah, that's what he's telling us!" I yelled. "And, he's lying!"

"You're fuckin' crazy!" Jake jumped up and yelled back. "I love Bella, she's my best friend."

"She _was_ your best friend! Your one job was to look out for her, and you set her up to be murdered, so get out!"

"What?" Jane screamed, jumping in front of Jake. "No!"

"Jasper, stop this!" Bella yelled at me. "This was not Jake's fault! He was hurt in the fight too!"

Of course she would defend her so called best friend. But it was my job, my privilege, to protect her, even if she couldn't see the truth of the matter. So I ignored her. "You get out; get out now or I'll kill you. Take your pick."

"Jasper," Carlisle said. "Just listen to sound reasoning for a moment. Jake wouldn't have fought against his own pack if he had set Bella up to be killed. And, if you had seen his injuries, you would know for a fact that this was not something he had planned."

"Babe, Jake saved me," Bella said. "I lost so much venom that I couldn't even make it all the way back here on my own and after I collapsed, and he was able to carry me back despite the fact he was badly hurt."

"Bella-"

"Hey guys, look outside for a second!" Char shouted.

"Char, what are you talking about?" Peter asked.

"Look outside!" she yelled again. "We've got company!"

X-X-X-X-X

She stood over six feet tall, her long black hair whipping around in the wind.

I could hear her heart beating too fast; it was the cadence of a shape-shifters heart.

She was flanked on either side by four horse sized wolves, and assuming she was one of them, that made nine of them altogether.

A new storm was brewing, and I wasn't talking about the weather.

"Who are they?"Carmen asked.

"The wolves that attacked us," Bella said.

"What do we do?" Rose asked.

Before either of us could answer, Jake was striding out the door toward the Amazonian looking woman. I didn't know what the hell was going on, and the only thing I was certain of was the hate she was projecting toward Jake when she saw him. If this chick was gonna kick Jake's ass, or even better, kill him, then I was gonna pull up a front row seat and watch.

_Pass the popcorn, y'all!_

"Who are you?" Jake asked. "Where did you come from and why are you here?"

She stepped forward, her canine companions moving in sync with her. "Are you being held as a prisoner here?"

"What?" Jake asked.

She nodded at the rest of us now congregated on the front porch. "Are these blood sucking leeches holding you prisoner? Say the word, and even though you fought and injured one of my people, we'll eliminate them and you can join us."

It seemed the hate I thought she was projecting toward Jake, was really directed toward us.

_Well shit, now I really am gonna have to be the one to kill him!_

"You haven't answered my question, who are you?" Jake asked.

"I am Rebecca, Chief of the Kaska people here in Northern British Columbia."

"You're shape-shifter's," Carlisle stated and stepped closer, but stopped when the snarls got louder.

"We are," she said, not offering any other information.

"We don't mean you any harm," Eleazar said.

"On the contrary, she attacked our kinsman," she pointed to Bella, "and when we stepped in to help him, she brutally injured two of my own people."

"You fought off two of them?" I asked Bella, not even trying to hide the pride I felt in her. "Way to go, baby!" I high-fived her.

Esme gave me a looked that suggested my glee of the situation was inappropriate given the fact we were currently standing in a face-off with the very creatures Bella just whipped, but I didn't care, my baby could defend herself.

"I did not attack Jake, we were wrestling; playing around," Bella defended.

"We saw you throw him into the air," Rebecca insisted.

"And then you tried to rip her apart!" Jake yelled.

"She is a threat to the human world we are designed to protect, all of them are! And they must die," she stated.

"We do not harm humans," Esme said. "We are animal drinkers."

Rebecca laughed. "You cannot fool me; it is within your nature to kill. I've seen your kind take out whole families; our forefathers used to tell stories of how vampires would destroy entire villages."

"Not them," Jake said. "The Cullen's are not like that. I won't let you kill them!"

"You don't have a choice!"

At her raised tone, her pack members sent out low snarls of approval.

"Wait a second!" Renata yelled, running toward the middle of the group. "You can't kill us!"

I felt a wave a determination coming from Renata, and I knew she was focusing her gift on our visitors. To help her out, I sent out my own wave of soothing vibes. The more relaxed they were, the easier it would be for Renata to shield us from them.

Rebecca shook her head, as if to clear the confusion she was now feeling. "Who are you?" she asked.

"The voice of reason," Renata said. "If you know about vampires, then you know about Aro of Volturi, and you know of his reputation."

Rebecca nodded and Renata continued.

"It's been _seen_ that his position as ruler over us has been threatened, and Jasper here will take over." She pointed at me. "We are preparing to fight Aro and any who choose to stand with him; Jake has agreed to help us. He is not being held as prisoner, and it is not our intention to harm any human."

"Why should I believe you? I know what I saw yesterday, and I know what she did to my sisters!" Rebecca yelled, still pointing at Bella.

I took a step forward, pulling Bella behind me. "Two against one ain't never been a fair fight, so if my Bella whooped some _bitch_ ass yesterday, then maybe you need to reevaluate your trainin' methods."

"Jasper, antagonizing them is not going to help," Carmen whispered to me.

I had seen a man phase into a wolf, but I had never seen one transform back. So it was especially interesting to see the wolf right next to Rebecca phase out of her canine body and stand upright; standing naked in front of thirteen strangers didn't seem to bother her.

Emmett let out a low whistle, followed by an _umph!_ sound as Rose elbowed him in the ribs for gawking.

"Sister, I believe they are telling the truth."

"Rachel, get back into formation!" Rebecca yelled.

"He freely stands with them, and it is not our concern if he chooses to remain with them," she said, looking at Jake. "He is their pet, let's leave him here."

"Hey, I ain't nobody's pet!" Jake yelled. "They are my family, and I've agreed to help them. And if you're so fuckin' concerned about human life, then you'll agree to help too!"

"We do not involve ourselves in outside affairs," Rebecca said. I felt Renata double her efforts and Rebecca thought for a moment before speaking again. "We will leave, but only if we have your word that you will stay out of the northern woods."

"Our property extends beyond the ridge," Carlisle said.

She nodded. "Then the mountains will be our border. Stay away from us, and we will stay away from you."

"Agreed," Carlisle said.

She turned to leave, but then turned back. "But, if we hear of any human slayings, we will come for you," she warned.

"Then we shall never hear from you again," Eleazar said.

X-X-X-X-X

Jake and I stood in the front yard. We had been staring at each other for the last twenty-seven minutes, neither of us speaking and neither of us moving. I was trying to find a way to tell him that I didn't plan to kill him and that he could stay...as long as he didn't screw up again. From the way he was trying to hide his nervous twitching, I suspected that he was trying to figure out how to ask for pretty much the same thing.

I could hear Bella and the girls from inside the house giggling at us. And when I turned to see them peeping out the window, I knew I needed to end this stand-off.

But how do you apologize, without apologizing? I mean, technically, Jake failed at the responsibilities I had given him and Bella did get hurt. But, it could have been much worse if he hadn't been there beside her.

Fuck that, I wasn't apologizing for shit.

The Major has never and will never recant his statements. I crossed my arms, determined to be solid in my decision to make him leave. That is, until I felt Bella's anger directed toward me.

My mate knew me too well.

I cleared my throat. "So uh, how 'bout those Giants winnin' the World Series?"

Jake let out the breath he had been holding. "Yeah, and it was Posey's first year with 'em too."

I kicked a few rocks out of the way; I was stalling, but I could still feel Bella's ire. "So I hear you got like this massive TV set up in the yurt with surround sound speakers and shit."

He nodded. "Emmett, Peter, Eli and I are gonna watch the Steelers play tonight, if you wanna come over. I mean, that is, if Bella doesn't need your _attention_ for a few hours."

I raised an eyebrow at the way he said 'attention', but didn't pursue it.

I heard Bella giggling in the house and Jake smirked.

"What's that about?" I asked.

"Huh, nothing," he said and smirked again.

I didn't say anything, just looked back and forth between Jake and the shadow of Bella in the window.

"So, you comin'?" he asked and stroked his chin with his fingers, trying to hide his smile.

Bella giggled again.

"Yeah, that's cool."

Jake took a couple of steps toward to me and cautiously raised his arm, then let it drop to his side again. Seeing what he was trying to do, I stepped forward, took a couple of deep breaths and raised my arm. Jake flashed me a half smile and accepted my handshake.

_That's the closest you're gonna get to an apology,_ dog, I thought.

"Yeah, it starts around eight, so um, I've got the beer, but you've got to bring your own blood."

X-X-X-X-X

It was a full moon out, and I could hear the animals moving around in the forest as I made my way back to the main house. My family was settling down for the night, but I was restless. The visit with Maria, Bella being attacked, the pack of _girl_ werewolves and the threat of Richard all weighed heavily on my mind.

I wanted someone to pay for harming my Bella, but there was no way I was about to start a fight with the Amazon looking chick and eight other werewolves. We had bigger fish to fry—Richard Aro, Alice and Edward-that's what I needed to concentrate on.

I felt Bella's hand on my shoulder; I turned and pulled her down to sit on my lap. We sat silently for a few minutes, staring off into the dark woods.

"What are you doing out here alone?" she asked, running her fingers through my hair.

"Just thinking."

She laid her head on my shoulder. "About what?"

I took a deep breath. "I don't want to do this anymore."

She stiffened in my arms and I immediately felt guilty that she now doubted me, us, our relationship. But, I brought this on myself when I withheld information from her. I should have been upfront about the messenger and Maria. And although we had talked about it, it was still going to take a while for Bella to fully trust me again.

"Do what?" she asked, nervous.

"I love you, baby, and I'm not talking about us," I said quickly.

She nodded, but didn't say anything.

I closed my eyes and pulled her closer, breathing in her sweet scent. "Everyone is looking for me to take over Aro's place based on a vision that my psycho ex-wife had. What the fuck is that about?"

"Rose said that Alice's visions have always been spot on."

I nodded. "Yeah, when it comes to market trends and what stock to buy. But why are we all so quick to jump on the Jasper-will-be-the-leader-of-the-new-vamp-world train? Eleazar told me this afternoon that the news about what's gonna happen here is spreading like wild fire among our people. What makes me qualified to lead a bunch of savage vampires? Why is everyone placing so much of their faith in _me_?"

"Because you're the Major, God of War."

"I'm Jasper Whitlock, in love with Bella Swan. That's all."

She smiled and kissed me softly. "Our people have needed hope for so long, something better to look forward to than being destroyed by Aro when he's in a mood, that when given an option, they're embracing the idea of change."

"Well shit baby, I ain't Obama."

She giggled. "No, far from it. But, despite how resistant to change our bodies may be, or how set in our ways we are, we know we need this."

"But I don't _want_ this!" I argued.

"What do you want?"

"I want to enroll in college and then graduate with you. I want to buy a suit and go on job interviews and go to work every day so I can rave about my weekend getaways with my sexy wife. I want to sit in commuter traffic and then complain about dreaded Monday mornings and my jackass boss. I want to carry around a bunch pictures of other peoples kids in my wallet so I can brag about my beautiful family at the company Christmas party. I just…I just wanna be normal."

"Then let's be normal."

"We can't."

"Why not? Why can't we just forget about all this and live our lives exactly the way you just said?"

"Because…because everyone's looking at me to do something. Besides, I told you about Richard." As soon as Bella had started to regain some of her strength, I had told her about what had happened in Texas and what Maria had said about Richard. I had learned my lesson on not keeping things from her, and I promised her that I would never do it again.

"Exactly. So then we'll take care of Richard."

"But then we still have Aro to deal with, and then Alice and Edward. Dammit, I just want peace!"

"Jasper, none of this is gonna last forever. You just have to be patient."

"But for how long?"

"Uh, that's kinda the definition of patience, my naked Scrabble cheater."

"I did not cheat," I insisted.

"Yeah, whatever." She kissed me then slapped my hand away as I tried to slide it up the bottom of her shorts.

"Hey, you aren't wearing any panties!" I yelled in surprise.

"Thanks for telling everybody," she mumbled, pushing me away.

I laughed and pulled her closer. "Sorry," I murmured, kissing her neck.

"And you know, just because you're the Major, it doesn't mean that you're gonna have to bear all of this on your own shoulders. We're here to do more than fight alongside of you."

I thought about what she said, and filed away the ideas it sparked so that I could mull them over later.

"Do you know why I love you so much?" I said instead.

"Because I let you cheat at naked Scrabble?"

"I did not cheat! And, among other things, I love you because you stand beside me, and support me and you put up with the dumb shit I do."

"Aw, you're so sweet."

I scooped her up in my arms. "And, because you've got the sweetest, most juiciest little pussy I ever had the pleasure of eating," I said and took off running with her in my arms toward the cave we never got to explore a few days before. I was hungry, and I needed me some Bella to eat.

* * *

**Yes? No? Maybe? Pick one and let me know what you thought!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29  
**

**First, I apologize for any I missed in responding to reviews. FFn is totally failing at letting me respond through my email, and some of you guys don't have your PM's enabled. But please know that I read each one and I appreciate the time it took for you to read and then tell me what you liked about it.**

**I forgot to mention in my A/N for last chapter that the Kaska people Rebecca refered to are an actual tribe in northern British Columbia and southeastern Yukon territory in Canada. There are about 450 people that speak their language. **

**My awesome beta is embarking on new, exciting literary adventures, and even though she has been and will be super busy, she still found the time to do this for me. Thanks a million Cullen818. And, JamesRamsey, I hope RL slows down for you soon!**

**This chapter has a lot of dialouge in it, and a lot going on.**

**SM owns it**

* * *

**BPOV**

"I don't know about this Bella," Renata said.

"It will work, it has too," I insisted.

"Jasper is gonna flip out when we tell him about this," Char said.

"Then we don't have to tell him," I said.

The four women looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"Are you kiddin' me?" Rose yelled. "Weren't you the same one who flipped out when Jasper didn't tell you about Maria, and now you wanna do pretty much the same thing?"

"Yeah Bells, that's just askin' for trouble," Jane said.

"Fine," I said with a huff. "I'll tell him."

"He's still gonna flip out and say no," Char said.

"Maybe I can get him to calm down and look at it objectively."

Rose shook her head. "There is no objective viewpoint when it comes to our mates and putting our safety in jeopardy. I don't think Emmett will go for it either."

"Jake will vote no, too," Jane said.

"Look, I'm not asking you guys to put yourself in the line of fire, that's gonna be my job. All I need is for you to be the lookout."

Maria was wrong; Nessie was not the antidote to Richard.

_I was._

My shield blocked my scent and any sound I made. I could walk through a room full of blindfolded vampires and they would never be able to detect my location. Along with my ability to drain the energy from any living—or undead—being, I was the perfect solution to getting rid of Richard.

I could sneak up on him, and as long as I remained inside my bubble, Richard couldn't see or hear me. Then, I could drain him, snap his neck and set him on fire before he even knew what was happening.

"Alice will see us," Rose said.

I shook my head. "Her visions are on the fritz, remember?"

"Yeah, but they could start working at any moment. 'Sides, if this Richard is as dangerous as Maria said he is, then surly he's being protected or sumthin'," Char said.

I gasped and snapped my fingers.

"Oh no, she's got another idea," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Yep," I said. "I gots me an idea!"

"What now, you gonna grow wings and swoop down from the sky and snatch Richard away from Alice and Edward?" Jane asked.

"No, we'll kidnap his mate, lure him where we want him and then I'll kill him," I said, grinning.

"You are fuckin' crazy!" Rose yelled at me.

"That's the dumbest shit I think I've ever heard," Jane said. "You're askin' to get your ass lit up."

"Aww c'mon guys, it will work!"

"No, hell no!" Renata said, shaking her head.

I sat down on the tree stump with a defeated sigh and rested my head in my hands. "We've got to do something," I whined.

Char knelt down in front of me. "Look at me, Bella." She pulled my hands away from my face when I refused. "Look at me."

"What?"

"Why are you all of a sudden goin' all Xena Warrior Princess with this? What's goin' on?"

I sighed again. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

I didn't say anything for a moment. "I feel…I feel so useless."

"Useless? Why would you feel useless?" Rose asked.

"I'm supposed to be this super badass vamp, and I can't even go runnin' through the woods without being attacked! This is the first time in the week since the she-wolves showed up that Jasper has let me out of his sight. He won't say it, but the threat of Richard scares him more than Aro, Alice or Edward combined. And, I just wanna do something so he's not so stressed out all the time."

"And you think that purposely putting yourself in the line of danger will be _less _stressful for him?" Renata asked.

I sighed and hung my head. "No," I mumbled. "But-"

The five of us smelled them before we saw them and immediately went into defense mode, crouching low in the standard fighters stance.

"Where?" Renata asked, scanning the woods.

"Left, fifty feet behind those rocks," I said.

"And on the right," Char said. "Behind those pine trees."

Jane cautiously stepped forward. "Come out now and we'll go easy on you!" she called out.

A few seconds later a tall, olive tone skinned woman with reddish brown hair cropped short peeped out from around the side of one of the boulders. I recognized her as Rachel, sister of the pack leader Rebecca. She was completely naked, and just like before, her nudity in front of strangers didn't seem to be an issue.

The other wolf slowly moved out of the shadows to stand beside her pack mate.

"Hi," Rachel said softly.

"State your purpose for being here," Jane demanded.

"I…we just wanted to introduce ourselves… and to apologize."

"Why?" Rose asked.

Rachel looked at the wolf and then looked at us. "We're sorry we hurt you," she said to me. "But, we really thought you were hurting him."

I didn't say anything.

She took another step forward. "We've never seen one of our kind befriend one of your kind before."

"Yeah, we're just one big 'ol meltin' pot 'o lurve around here," Rose said.

"Jake was my friend before I was changed," I explained. "And, I have no desire to kill him." _At least, not anymore, _I thought.

"If all you wanted to do was to apologize, then perhaps it's time for you to go on back to your own people now that you've done that," Jane said, rudely.

We all knew that Jane had a no nonsense type of attitude, and that while she was finding her humanity once again, there were many times when she was just cold to all of us. But, the way she spoke to our visitors suggested there were underlying issues involved.

"Jane?" Char asked.

"What?" Jane snapped.

"It's okay if—"

"No. Their leader made a deal with us; we stay over here, and they stay over there. And, they're breaking the rules."

"We don't want to cause problems," Rachel said.

"Well you already have," Jane said. "Leave now before I kill you."

"Jane!" Renata said, laying a hand on her friends arm. "You stop this right now!"

But Jane wasn't listening. She ripped her arm away from Renata and took several steps toward Rachel. The last thing we needed was for Jane to attack Rachel and then for Rebecca to bring the rest of the pack to our front door in retaliation. So, I stepped up behind Jane and laid my hand on her shoulder.

And she fell to the forest floor, drained of energy.

X-X-X-X-X

"What happened to her?" Jake demanded. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa holding Jane's shaking hands secure around the cup of plasma laced blood she was sipping from.

"I drained her," I said.

Jake jumped up, whirling around to face me. "You did what?" he yelled at me.

Jasper stepped forward, yanking me out of the way. "Stand down dog, that's my mate you're talkin' to, and I suggest you adjust the tone of your voice when you speak to her or you will be breathin' out your ass from now on."

Jake took a couple of steps back. He was clenching and unclenching his fist and he was starting to sweat profusely, but somehow he managed to check his temper.

"What happened?" he asked again, sitting back down.

"Rachel came by," Char said. "She wanted to apologize for attacking you two."

With that bit of news, the only person in the room that didn't seemed shocked by it all was Jake. He just nodded and continued to hold the cup up to Jane's lips.

"Jake," Jane said. "You knew she was coming here and you didn't tell us."

"What do you mean, 'he knew'?" Jasper asked. He was still somewhat suspicious that Jake knew about the werewolves and withheld the information from us. I reached out and grabbed his arm before he could advance on him.

"Jane, you need to keep –"

"Don't tell me what I need!" Jane screamed, pushing his hands away. "I knew this was gonna happen, I just knew it!"

"What are you talkin' 'bout, half-pint?" Emmett asked.

"I saw you talking to her two days ago! You think I wouldn't smell her on you?" Jane said.

"You got it all wrong, Boo-Boo," Jake said. "It's not like that."

"Boo-Boo?" Emmett asked grinning. "Then explain it to us, Yogi." He laughed.

"I ran across her path when I was out patrolling. She came to apologize to me for attacking us. That's all."

"Was she naked?" Emmett asked, licking his lips and rubbing his hands together.

Jane narrowed her eyes at Emmett and he dropped to the ground with a roar of pain, holding his head.

"Cut it out, Jane!" Esme yelled.

"Keep it going, Jane!" Rose cheered her on and then kicked her mate, yelling at him, "You pig, you are so disgusting!"

Emmett rolled around on the floor for a few seconds more before Jane collapsed back onto the sofa, completely drained of the energy she had managed to recoup.

"Why were you hiding it then?" she asked Jake.

"I'm not hiding anything. I didn't say anything because it was no big deal!" Jake insisted.

"You imprinted on her, didn't you? That's why you haven't touched me in two days." Jane shook her head, hiding behind her hands. "I knew it, I just knew it!"

"Uh, first of all, gross. Second, maybe you two should continue this convo out back in the doghouse," Jasper said.

"I haven't imprinted on anyone," Jake insisted.

"Imprint?" I asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It's kinda like you and Giganotosaurus here," Jake said, pointing at me and then Jasper. "True mates and all that shit."

"What the fuck did you just call me?" Jasper asked.

I grabbed his arm again, pulling him back again. "Jasper," I warned.

"So, you didn't imprint on Rachel?" Jane asked.

"No, I did not imprint on Rachel; I've not imprinted on anyone," Jake said.

"Oh," Jane said in a tiny voice and turned her cup up again.

My heart broke for her; _she _wanted to be Jake's imprint.

"Well if you haven't imprinted on Rachel, or anyone else for that matter, then how do you _know_ you haven't?" Char asked.

"A person knows when they've imprinted on someone. I've heard it being described as a feeling of being tied to the other person, like with invisible cords or something," Jake said and turned to me. "Almost like when you said that Jasper's voice is louder in your head than he is with everyone else. Imprinting is your brand on each other, your mark."

"That's like the way Chelsea's gift works," Renata said. "She's often described it as tying invisible cords between people together."

"You don't choose the person you imprint on. And, an imprint can't be torn away from his imprintee," Jake said. "It's a bond forever."

Jasper ran his hand down my arm and laced his fingers through mine. "Like us."

"Can it only happen between werewolves, or shape shifters then?" Peter asked.

"No, but the strongest bonds are between similar species."

Jane jumped up from the sofa. "I'm going for a run."

"No Boo-Boo, you're still not strong enough," Jake insisted, pulling her back down.

"Don't do this, Jake," Jane sobbed, pulling away from him.

"What are you talkin' 'bout? Do what?" he asked.

I had a feeling things were about to get overly emo-y and while I was grateful that I wasn't the empath my mate was, I still didn't want to be a witness to the soap opera drama that was now about to happen on our living room sofa between my best werewolf friend and his vampire girlfriend.

"Maybe we should give them some privacy," I suggested.

"No way, this is better than 'Days of Our Lives'," Emmett said, pulling up a chair to watch.

"Get up!" Rose shouted, pulling him out of the chair.

"Aw babe!" Emmett protested. "The cable is out, I gotta have somethin' to watch!"

"Bella's right, let's all go for a short hunt," Carlisle suggested.

"Jake honey," Esme said, laying a motherly hand on Jake's shoulder. "You know I love you like you were one of my own, but I don't want to come back to this house with it smelling like wolf sex. You take that out back and make sure to wrap it up. M'kay?"

"UGH!" Emmett screamed, holding his head. "Esmama, please!"

"Move it!" Rose shouted at Emmett, pushing him out the door.

"Boo-Boo, what is it?" I heard Jake ask as we made our way across the front lawn.

"Don't pretend to care about me, and then go off and imprint on someone else," Jane said.

"Do you think he will imprint on one of them?" Jasper asked me. He bent down so I could hop on his back.

"I don't know. It seems like they care more about each other than the other one knows."

"I wonder what happened with Renata."

"What do you mean? What does Renata have to do with Jake and Jane?" I asked.

I could hear the grimace in his voice. "Initially, it was the three of them doin' the wild thang."

"The three of them? What the hell are you talking about, Jasper?"

He laughed. "I caught Jane _and_ Renata sneaking out of the doghouse one night, both of them covered in Jake funk. Now, it's only Jane that Jake's slippin' it to."

"You got to be kidding me!"

He shook his head. "Nope," he said, popping the 'p'.

"Both of them?"

"Both of them," he confirmed.

I had been so focused on what Jasper was saying that I didn't recognize where he was taking me. "Uh, our cave is back that way. Where are we going?"

"Two days ago I saw a family of Kermode bears down in the valley beyond the cave."

"Kermode bears?"

"They're actually black bears with white fur."

"Albino bears?"

"Hey, weren't you a forestry student? Shouldn't you know this stuff?"

"I had to drop out and become a vampire before I took that class, remember?"

"Anyways, they're not considered albino's because a Kermode's nose and paws are dark brown or black."

"Why are these bears so special that we have to go way down to the valley to see them?"

"Because they mainly live off the coast of B.C. in the rainforest islands. It's rare to spot them so far inland."

"And, lemme guess, you wanna eat one?"

He turned and grinned at me. "They're favorite snack is wild berries, so they taste sweet, like the berries they eat."

"Are these bears extinct?"

"No, not at all. It's just been a really long time since I had one, and I thought maybe we could share one before they go into hibernation."

I kissed his neck in a particularly sensitive spot, right under his ear. I felt his body tremble and he tightened his grip on me.

"Mmm, sounds tasty."

X-X-X-X-X

I held Jasper's hands down, pinning them to the forest floor with my knees as I sucked his cock. He resisted at first, yelling about his damned health care maintenance plan, but as soon as I showed him that I could use my teeth on the uptake without biting his dick in half, he stopped squirming and started bucking his hips, fucking my mouth.

At the moment, he was squirming again, thus the need for me to restrain his hands. He was whining about how he wanted to cum inside me. Didn't the man know that he was about to cum inside me, just not inside my pussy, but down my throat? He wanted sweet bears to eat; I wanted his sweet cum.

So we both got what we wanted.

I just happened to get it multiple times.

And well, so did he.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Jasper yelled, his lips close to my ear.

His fingers clawed into the surface of the rock he had just slammed me into. He kicked my legs apart and ran one hand down the front of my body, cupping my sex. I could feel my juices running down my thighs as he thrust his fingers in and out of me.

It smelled sweet.

I wanted to taste it.

I licked my lips. "What?" I panted.

He removed his fingers from my pussy and shoved them in my mouth. "Suck," he commanded.

_Gladly._

I think I even hummed.

"Fuck, that's hot," he panted.

"What am I not supposed to do again?" I asked, arching my back and sticking my ass out to rub against his erection.

"I don't like to cum two times in a row if you don't," he said, thrusting his fingers back inside of me.

I looked back over my shoulder at him. "Then make me cum, Jasper."

He teased me unmercifully, repeatedly thrusting only the head of his glorious cock inside of me and then pulling it out. It seemed like he did this for hours, laughing at me when I asked him to just fuckin' fuck me already. And when I thought I was going to go mad from his sweet torture, he finally slammed into me.

I screamed his name over and over again.

We clawed at each other, knocking down trees and uprooting the dry vegetation.

Birds overhead abandoned their nest.

Forest animals scampered out of our way.

It was wonderful, and it went on for hours.

Days actually.

_How lucky am I?_

I'll tell you how lucky I am.

Jasper had his face between my thighs, sucking on my clit for exactly three hours and seventeen minutes. I know this, because I had been practicing the finer points of controlling the simultaneous thoughts that ran through my head. But the best part of it was that he could have sucked my clit for days, and the only reason he stopped was because I asked him to.

I asked him to because he couldn't have his dick and his tongue in the same place at the same time. I wanted to feel him moving in and out of me, and at the same time I wanted his mouth on other places of my body.

In turn, I did the same for him. I sucked his cock and I licked his balls until I got scared that his eyes had permanently rolled back into their socket and got stuck. So I had to climb on his lap and bounce them back in place.

"I love seeing your tits move like that."

I leaned over him, making sure to rub them in his face as I moved on his dick.

"Mmm, even better," he murmured, pinching one nipple and sucking on the other.

It was three days before we came up for air.

We had three glorious days of intense fucking, sweet love making and just holding onto each other as we watched the sun rise and set before we made our way back to the Cullen house.

Three days of peace, and then the shit hit the fan.

The Denali girls were in town.

Two of the Kaska girl werewolves were camped out on the front lawn—in human form and completely naked.

And, the familiar scent of the Quileute Rez hung in the air.

Oh, and did I mention that Jane was throwing a fit and threatening to kill everybody?

**JPOV**

I stopped and turned Bella back around as soon as I heard all the commotion going on in the house.

"Maybe we can make it back to the valley before someone spots us," I said, pulling her along behind me.

"Jasper, we need a shower and a change of clothes," Bella said, looking down at our dirt encrusted clothes.

Bella had dried blood, mud and grass stains on her shirt and jeans. Twigs, pine needles and leaves were stuck in her hair and something black was smudged on one cheek all the way down her neck. She had never looked prettier. And, I wasn't any better. I had mud and dirt in places I didn't even want to talk about.

Three days of wild vampire sex tend to leave one a little disheveled.

"Babe, we can become nomads; live off the land. We'll bathe and wash our clothes in the creek. Let's go."

She pulled her hand out of mine, refusing to move. "That's ridiculous, Jasper!"

We both turned toward the sound of Emmett screaming in pain.

"Sit down, Jane! And, stop torturing Emmett!" Esme yelled.

"No, what's ridiculous is whatever is going on in that house," I whispered yelled at her.

"Tell him to shut up then!" Jane yelled back.

I heard breaking glass, Tanya taunting Jane and then Jane wailing about Jake leaving her.

"Poor wittle Janey, afraid her big bad wolf is gonna weave her for a full sized woman," Tanya teased.

Jane shouted something garbled and then Tanya screamed in pain.

"Both of you -all of you-shut up!" Carlisle yelled. "You're driving me insane!"

"Stop it!" Jake yelled.

If Carlisle was mad and yelling, then whatever was going on must have been really bad.

"They are our family!" Bella insisted.

"They are fuckin' nuts! Now let's go," I said, pulling on her arm.

"Jasper!"

Okay, I really didn't want to do this to her, but it was time to pull out the big guns. If she thought my voice was loud in her head, then it was about to get louder. "You are my mate, and I'm ordering you to follow me."

She folded her arms and stared at me, patting her foot on the ground. "Really, Jasper?"

"What?"

"Jake said that _timbre_ voice only works from the Alpha down to the pack."

"Hey, I'm the Alpha of this pack," I said, beating on my chest. "I'm _your_ Alpha." I poked her in the chest with my finger.

But then Bella punched me in my chest. "And, you're a vampire, not a werewolf ya big dufus!" She turned on her heel and walked off. "I'm going inside, with or without you."

"Beeelllaaa," I whined, following her.

"Hi, you're Rachel, right?" Bella asked, ignoring me. She cautiously approached one of the naked chicks lounging on the front lawn.

I only had eyes for my Bella, but holy fuckin' damn those girls had it goin' on! Playboy bunnies anybody?

Bella turned and pinched me, nearly twisting a hole in my arm. "Keep your eyes above the neck, mister," she whispered to me.

_Shit! Did I say that out loud? _

I yelped, rubbing the sore spot. "What? What'd I do?" I asked.

Bella rolled her eyes at me and turned back to the two smokin' hot chicks.

"Yes," Rachel said, standing up. "And this is Emily."

"You're the other one that attacked us, aren't you?" Bella said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We thought you were hurting him."

Bella shrugged. "No worries, I'm still alive. But why are you guys here?"

Bella didn't think she was a badass vamp, but she had fought off two werewolves, survived it and then blew it off like it was no big deal. And, she didn't spend time worrying over the fact that she now had permanent scars down her back. My baby was fuckin' awesome!

Rachel looked at Emily and both girls blushed. I could feel the same giggling sensation bubbling from them that teenage girls get when they see a guy they think is really hawt—like me.

"I've sorta imprinted on Jake," Rachel said.

"If you don't get your hands off me Jake, I'm gonna kill all of them!" Jane yelled.

"And, it's caused quite a bit of an uproar," Emily added after hearing Jane's threat.

"I told you, I don't like her like that!" Jake shouted back.

"So uh, I guess you're kinda waiting until things calm down before going in?" I asked.

Rachel and Emily both nodded.

"Most of our people assume that just 'cause we imprint on someone, it means that we have to be with them, like in a relationship," Rachel said. "But that's not what it's about."

"So you don't have to…_mate_ with them if you imprint on them?" Bella asked.

"No, imprinting does not mean that you automatically fall in love with someone. Imprinting on someone means that you will act as whatever the imprintee needs. Someone may need a lover, someone else may need a protector or it could even be a brother or sister type thing."

"What are you _looking_ for?" I asked.

"It's not up to me to decide since Jake is _my_ imprintee. I will be whatever he needs me to be," Rachel said.

I studied her emotions for a moment and determined that she was telling the truth. She had no intentions of being more to Jake than he allowed.

"Jane's not taking this too well," Bella said.

"She's been pitching a fit since yesterday," Emily said. "Carmen suggested we come back once they talked some sense into her, but Rachel can't leave."

"You can't leave?" I asked.

"Jake is here; I go where he goes," Rachel simply stated.

"And Jane?" Bella asked.

"If he is in love with her, then I am happy for him. If she hurts him, I will have to hurt her," Rachel said.

"But what about you?" Bella asked. "What if you want to love someone that's not your imprintee? Is that allowed?"

Rachel blushed again and nodded. "My boyfriend is no more happier about this than Jane."

Her statement sparked so many questions. Was her boyfriend a wolf too? Could they have little wolf babies? Were they related to the Quileute's? How many she-wolves were there in their village? Were all the wolves girls? How long that they been phasing? Were all the women as freakishly tall as the two of them? Was Rebecca the Chief or was she called Chieftess? Did she have to wear one of those tall feather headdress things? But the one burning question I just had to ask was: "So uh, do you girls walk around naked all the time? 'Cause that would be, like a major distraction."

Bella swatted me so hard I think one of my ribs cracked. "Jasper!"

"Babe, you just can't go around hitting me like that," I said, rubbing my side. "I'm startin' to feel like a battered husband."

Rachel and Emily laughed at us. "To us, being naked is natural. We don't carry clothes with us because it's annoying to have to stop and put them on or take them off when we phase back and forth."

"Oh," I said, enjoying the mental image of them walking around naked all the time.

Bella detected my tone and hit me again.

I stepped away from her lethal hands. "I mean, interesting, very interesting."

"But we do wear clothes when we're doing everyday normal stuff," Emily clarified.

We heard more screaming and the windows on the bottom floor of the house cracking because of it.

"Let's go deal with this," Bella said, walking toward the house.

"No way, I'm not goin' in there! I just want to live in peace, not this circus!"

Bella whirled around to face me. "When's the last time I told you how bad you suck at being an empath?"

"What?"

"You want peace, well then make it!"

"Wh-huh?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Calm everybody down long enough to get them to talk out whatever issues are going on."

"Oh."

"Duh." She pushed open the front door but then turned around and punched me again. "I said calm them down, not _sedate _them!"

It looked like they were sleep, hanging over the edge of the furniture and curled up on the floor. Emmett actually looked like he was drooling.

"Too much?" I asked, unnecessarily, as I readjusted my mojo.

"Back it off a little more, Jasper," Carlisle said, running his hands through his hair. He looked worn out and tired. Is that even possible for a vampire? "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Bella, these are, for a lack of a better term, my cousins, Tanya, Irina and Kate. Guys, this is my mate, Bella."

"Wow! You sure know how to clean up to greet your guest!" Tanya said in that nasty tone of voice she was famous for.

"We've been out hunting," Bella explained.

Tanya rolled her eyes.

"Were you hunting it, or was it hunting you?" Irina asked.

"I know newborns are supposed to be wild and impulsive, but you don't have to look like it, honey," Kate said. "Hasn't Jasper taught you anything?"

"Excuse me?" Bella said.

I stepped forward. "Look you three-"

"I can't believe you passed this up, for _that_," Tanya said, gesturing to her body and then at Bella.

I was just about to defend my mate and rip Tanya and her sisters a new one when I was suddenly pushed out of the way by Char.

"You don't know a damn thing about Bella, so shut your fat mouth!" Char yelled at Tanya. "Jasper and Bella have just spent the last three days having wild outdoor sex. I don't see a man hanging on your flabby arm!"

"There's not a man around dumb enough to hang onto that!" Rose said.

"I am not fat!" Tanya yelled.

What the hell just happened here? What was supposed to be a nice family introduction, all of sudden morphed into a sequel of Mean Girls. It was the three Denali girls against the three Cullen/Whitlock girls!

"Chick fight!" Emmett yelled.

"Fat head, fat mouth and your thighs look like sides of meat!" Char said. "Whoever changed you must have had Porky Pig venom!"

Char puffed out her cheeks and Rose made oinking sounds.

Tanya gasped. "I can't believe you just said that to me!"

"Looks like those she-wolves ain't the only bitches in town!" Bella said.

"Okay, that's enough!" Eleazar shouted. "Tanya, you and your sisters go to your rooms!"

"But-"

"Now!" he yelled. "Bella, I apologize for the way my _daughters_ have behaved. They are normally not this bad."

"Ha!" Rose laughed. "Wanna bet?"

"It's okay Eli," Bella said. "Women have to mark their territory just like men do."

"And so long as they know that they are on our turf, we won't have another problem," Char said.

"I'll make sure they know," Carmen said, eying the bedroom doors her daughters just slammed.

"Good grief, you two smell worse than the wolves," Peter said, coming into the room. He fanned the air under his nose.

"Hey, we heard that!" Jake said, coming out of the kitchen, followed by Embry and Quil.

Bella squealed and ran to the dogs, throwing her arms around their necks. "Oh my God, what are you guys doing here?"

"It's just one big happy family reunion!" Rose said, grimacing.

"We're here to help distract the she-wolves," Quil said.

"More like get lucky with the she-wolves," Emmett said.

I wasn't the only one to detect the jealousy in Emmett's tone; Rose slapped him so hard I thought I heard his neck crack.

"I'm sorry baby," Emmett said, following Rose out of the house. "You know I can't help what comes out of my mouth!"

"Gawd Bella, you really do smell worse than we do," Embry said, holding her at arm's length.

"Alright, alright! We're going to get cleaned up. You guys just promise not to kill each other while we're gone," I said.

"No, we'll wait until you get back," Jane said. "It'll be more fun that way."

"Boo-Boo," Jake warned.

Despite all the screaming Jane had been doing before we made it inside the house, I felt a cloud of her own peace surrounding her. She was plotting something and had come to a decision on how to execute it. I sent her a double dose of lethargy before pushing Bella up the stairs to our bedroom.

As soon as we got into the privacy of our room, I motioned for Bella to put her shield up. Sometimes, having a mate with the ability to block off all senses was helpful; we could have a private conversation in a house full of supersonic hearing vampires and no one would know what we were saying.

"What is it?" Bella asked.

"Somethin' is goin' on with Jane," I said, staring at Bella's breasts as she bent over to unhook her jeans off her foot. I had just spent the last few minutes trying not to stare at two sets of tits I couldn't touch, so I had no shame at openly ogling a set I _could_ touch.

"Of course somethin' going on with her, she wants to get rid of the competition," Bella said.

"No, I mean that she's made up her mind about something. I think she's really gonna try to hurt Rachel."

"Oh, well what do we do then?" Bella asked.

I couldn't just stand there and look at Bella's breasts anymore; I had to touch them.

I squeezed both of them together and kinda jiggled them around in my hands, pinching her nipples.

Bella quirked an eyebrow at me. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm just, you know…_you know_." I winked at her and licked my lips.

"We're trying to have a serious conversation and you're standing here feelin' me up?" she asked, hands on her hips and giving me the eye that suggested I better keep my hands to myself.

"But babe, they were kinda winkin' at me, and well, _you know_…" I licked my lips again. I looked at the bed and then back at her. "_You know_."

"No more sex binges for you; I think I fucked you stupid."

She pushed my hands away and left me standing in the middle of our bedroom with an open mouth and a raging hard-on.

X-X-X-X-X

I had bigger things to worry about than a tiny, not even five foot tall vampire, slaughtering an entire village of shape shifters. My mate and my entire family were in danger of being brain burnt alive, and here I was, outside in the damn dark waiting on Jane to act like a complete fool. Once I got my hands around her scrawny little neck I was gonna pop her bobble head off her shoulders and bowl with it until she promised to behave.

Bella grabbed my arm and then pointed to Jane, sneaking out of the doghouse, her tiny legs moving so fast I almost missed her.

I jumped up. "Stay here," I told Bella.

"She will smell you and hear you before you can even get close to her, and then she'll out run you."

"She can't out run me," I said, offended. "Nobody out runs the Major!"

Bella rolled her eyes at me. "What is going _on_ with you?"

I shrugged. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. C'mon, let's get her."

Bella jumped up, grabbed my hand and we took off running. The thing about her shield was that she hadn't perfected extending it more than two feet beyond her body. If I needed the protection of her bubble, then she had to be right there with me.

We caught up to Jane before she made it to the lake. I tackled her to the ground and because she couldn't detect us, she treated me like any other attacking vampire. She turned her gift on me as a defense mechanism.

"Jane!" Bella yelled. "It's us, let him up!"

Not immediately recognizing who we were, Jane attacked Bella, knocking her to the ground. The two women fought for a moment until Bella was able to get her hands on Jane's flesh. With her minute loss of power, Jane released the hold she had on me and sat back on the ground, holding her head in her hands.

"You gotta stop doin' that to me. That shit gives me a wicked headache," Jane said.

"Sorry," Bella said. "I didn't drain too much, did I?"

Jane shook her head. "Nah, it's just the initial jolt that caught me off guard."

I picked myself up off the ground and dusted myself off. "Jane, what the hell are you doing out here?" I asked. Of course, I had a pretty good idea what she was about to do, but I wanted her to admit it.

She looked at me with contempt and then turned away. "Don't look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"With that judging attitude."

"Jane, no one is judging you," Bella said. "And in fact, if I were you, I would be about to do the same thing."

"Don't encourage her, Bella," I whispered to my mate.

Bella sat down beside Jane on the ground. "Give us a second, baby."

"I'm not leaving you out here—"

"Will you just walk over there somewhere?" Bella asked and raised her eyebrow at me.

I knew what that raised eyebrow meant, and while I will never, ever, admit to being a whipped man, I turned around and walked away.

"Jane, tell me what's going on?" Bella said.

"It's embarrassing," Jane said.

"When has love ever been embarrassing?"

"I'm not in love with Jake!" Jane said quickly; a little too quickly to be believable.

Bella cleared her throat.

"Okay," Jane said. "So, what of it if I'm in love with Jake? Is that a crime?"

"No, not at all. It's actually a beautiful thing."

"But?"

"But why don't you trust him?"

"Who says I don't trust him?" Jane asked.

"Because you're about to go slaughter an entire village of innocent people because you're afraid he's gonna leave you for one of them," Bella pointed out.

"She imprinted on my man!"

"And, she has a boyfriend _and_ Jake is in love with _you_. Plus, he explained to you that just because she imprinted on him, doesn't mean he has to give you up. She can be his sister of sorts."

"But that's no guarantee!" Jane shouted and then broke down in tears.

"Honey, there are never any guarantees in life or love."

"But you have Jasper; he's your true mate."

"Yes, he is my true mate," Bella agreed. "But he's only a vampire, prone to doing stupid, dumbass vampire shit. And even though he makes me mad enough to pound rocks sometimes, I still _trust_ and love him to do the right thing for me, for us."

"But-"

"Do you think it was easy for me to see him go off to Maria again? Hell no! And, he could have easily taken her up on her offer to give us Nessie in turn for him becoming her mate. But did he?"

"That's 'cause he knows you'd rip his nuts off," Jane said.

I laughed.

"You're right, I would. And, Jake knows you'd do the same to him." Bella wrapped her arms around Jane. "You have to trust his love for you, Jane. He's not going anywhere."

Jane sighed heavily. "I know. But at first it was even hard for me to accept _you_ in his life, and I know you're just friends!"

"I know honey, I know," Bella said. "This is just gonna take a little time, that's all."

"But, you can't go running off tryin' to kill people just 'cause you're afraid of somethin'," I added, joining the conversation. "This is not Volterra, and we don't get down like that here."

"I'm sorry," Jane said softly. "But can we put some sort of stipulation on these wolves?"

"Whatcha got in mind?" I asked.

"Clothes. They have to wear clothes if they're coming around us. I won't be able to control myself if I see Miss Double D's swinging her tits in my man's face!"

Bella high-fived Jane.

"I second that request," Bella said.

There were so many objections I wanted to raise to that request. Who were _we_ to say who wore what? Like Rachel said, being naked was natural. It was a beautiful thing. Why censor or even try to hide it?

In fact, I was thinking of conducting a little experiment on nudity myself. Bella and I could start a whole new trend for vampires. We could start going naked at least three days a week. Once I became head vamp, I could even institute it as a rule!

But, after looking at my mate and the pint sized mini demon sitting beside her, I knew enough to keep my words and the tone of my voice in check.

"Sure, that won't be a problem at all."

X-X-X-X-X-X

There were too many of us in one house.

The Denali's were downstairs, the Cullen's and part of the Whitlock's were upstairs, the dogs were out back in the doghouse and the she-wolves were camped out on the front lawn-fully clothed this time, much to the dismay of our Quileute visitors.

Bella and I decided to pitch a tent for the night in the field beyond the front lawn. We could have gone to our yurt on the other side of the Cullen property, but Bella wanted to be close to the family, and I was not going to deny her anything she wanted.

"I've made a decision," I announced, leaning back into the mound of pillows and tucking my arms behind my head.

Just because we were in a tent, didn't mean we were 'roughing' it. It was one of those five person tents with different sections to it. I had spread out several large rugs and piled blankets and pillows on top of it. It looked like we were in some sort of Middle Eastern desert tent palace.

Bella's head popped up out from the mound of blankets she had burrowed under and she rolled over to me, laying her head on my chest.

"Decision about what?"

"I'm not gonna do this, this head vamp rule thing."

"Okay."

I lifted up to look down at her. "Okay? That's all you're gonna say?"

"What do you want me to say, Jasper? You know I'll stand beside you, whatever you decide."

I laid back into the pillows. "Don't you wanna know why?"

"You said why the other day; you want peace."

"Don't you wanna know how?"

She made a snorting noise through her nose. "I'm guessin' you don't even know how yet."

"You think you know so much about me," I said, pouting.

Bella rolled over on top of me, straddling my waist. "I know that you wouldn't make this decision unless you had several scenarios running around in that beautiful head of yours." She ran her fingers through my hair and nibbled on my bottom lip. "And I know that you don't want to decide on one, just in case your crazy ex-wife's gift locks in on it."

"What else do you know?"

"I know you like it when I do this," she said, and slowly, torturously, sunk down on my dick. "Am I right?"

I grabbed her hips to steady her as I thrust upward. "Mmm…yeah, you know what I like."

"When are you doing this?" she asked, panting.

"Soon," I said and pushed my hands into her hair. I pulled her down to me so that I could kiss her sexy lips. "Bella," I said, ghosting my lips over hers. "When all this is over, it's just gonna be me and you for a while. No other vamps, no naked shape shifters and no smelly dogs hanging around. Are you cool with that?"

She laughed. "You have no idea how cool I am with that."

* * *

**Leave me love or leave me hate, just leave me something!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**Please, please, please forgive me for not posting sooner! I've had a wicked case of writer's block. Jasper and Bella just seemed to stop talking to me altogether. After weeks of pleading with them, I managed to get a little info out of them. On top of my major block, I've developed carpal tunnel or arthritis or something, 'cause for about a week I could barely type anything! Not an excuse, just a fact.**

**Thank you so much for sticking with me and continuing to read!**

**Some of you didn't like my concept of Rachel imprinting on Jake, and it not being a mutual imprint. Last year I moved across the country and donated my Twilight series to charity (I know, I know, it's like blasphemy or something) so I couldn't reference the book when I wrote the last chapter-I had to wiki the term. And, wiki gives the explanation I based my idea of imprinting on:**

_"In the Twilight Series, "imprinting" is the phenomenon where a shape-shifter, after initially transforming, will be unconsciously drawn toward, and then unconditionally attached to a member of the opposite gender, although it is not completely sexual."_

**Therefore, like Rachel explained in the last chapter:**

"... imprinting does not mean that you automatically fall in love with someone. Imprinting on someone means that you will act as whatever the imprintee needs. Someone may need a lover, someone else may need a protector or it could even be a brother or sister type thing."

**So, sorry to those who can't wrap their minds around Jake and Rachel not having a mutual imprint. But, if you remember, Quil's impriting was not sexual because Claire was 2 years old, just as Jake's initial imprinting on Renesmee was not sexual, or really even mutual seeing that she was a newborn. AND, this story is non-cannon. **

**So, enough of my yammering. Let me know what you think!**

**Oh, and this chapter has not been beta'd. Cullen818 is busy editing her original works of fiction for publishing. Congrats to her; she's a kick ass writer and I'm honored to have her as my beta. Hopefully she will remember me when she's at the top of the Bestseller list!**

**SM owns it!**

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**JPOV**

I rolled over and rubbed my hard cock against Bella's ass. She arched her back, moaned and then rolled over to face me. Without a word, her legs automatically parted for me and I slipped inside her wet heat. I briefly wondered if this was how Moses felt when he parted the Red Sea, liking a fuckin' king!

"What are you grinning about?" Bella asked me with a small sigh as I made a few shallow thrust into her, working up her anticipation for greater things to come.

I didn't answer her right away, but kissed her, pushing my tongue deep in her mouth. She laced her fingers around the back of my head and kissed me back with just as much intensity. I pulled away long enough to hook one of her legs over my forearm. "I was just thinkin' that I could stay right here, just like this, for the rest of the day," I said, thrusting harder.

She moaned. "I think I like that idea."

"Yeah?" I pulled out of her, flipped her over on her stomach and slammed into her again, going even deeper. "Or, maybe like this."

She arched her back as I moved in and out of her. "I like the way you think. We should—"

Before my mate could even finish her statement, I heard Jake and Jane arguing, footsteps and then my name being called.

"Jasper!" Jane yelled, louder this time.

I dropped my head, resting my forehead against Bella's shoulder and exhaled deeply. "No, no, no! Please don't let them be arguing again," I whined.

Bella wiggled her hips. "Keep going, just ignore them."

"Boo Boo, they might be in the middle of something," Jake said, moving closer to the tent.

"This is important!" Jane said. Her shadow appeared against the tent wall. "Jasper, I need to speak to you."

"Maybe if we're really quite, they'll think we went hunting or something," I whispered in Bella's ear.

"I can hear you, Jasper," Jane said, hand on her hip. "Now come out, or I'm comin' in!"

"See, this is your fault," I said to Bella.

She pushed me off her and sat up on her knees. "_My fault_, how is this my fault?"

"It's your fault 'cause you refused to go back to the valley and live like nomads!" I said through clenched teeth. I started tossing pillows around, looking for my pants. "Now we have to put up with Tiny and the mutt and a house full of Jerry Springer rejects!"

I was mad.

I was really fuckin' mad and I didn't give a fuck where the pillows I was throwing landed.

"Don't yell at me, and watch where you're throwing those!" Bella yelled, throwing a pillow back at me.

"Did you hear me, Jasper?" Jane asked, hand poised on the zipper of the tent flap.

"The next time I give you an order, you had damn well better follow it!" I yelled at Bella.

Bella looked around her and then pointed at her chest. She mouthed, _Me?_

"Yes, you!" I pointed at her.

"What did you just say to me?" Bella asked.

"I've never been in the habit of repeating myself, and I ain't startin' now!"

"Who the hell do you think you are to speak to me—"

Clearly my anger was taking over my brain. So much so that I starting spewing shit before I could stop it. "I'm the fuckin' Major," I beat on my chest, "that's who I am. And when I say sumthin', I expect for my orders to be followed!"

"Jasper!" Jane yelled again.

I found my pants and with an angry snap of the material, flung the legs out in front of me to step into them. "Jane, if you open that flap I'm gonna snap your little neck!"

Jake pulled her away from the tent and stepped in front of her. "Hey, you'd better watch-"

"Utter one more word Jake, and I will cut your balls off with a rusty spoon!" I was so worked up that I didn't even see Bella until she pushed past me to the entrance of the tent. "Where the fuck do you think you're goin'?"

Mistake number one was yelling at my mate.

Mistake number two was yelling at a newborn vampire.

And mistake number three was grabbing the arm of my mate and newborn vampire who had the ability to drain me of energy with just one touch.

Bella hit me so hard I swore I saw stars.

I fell into the opposite wall, bringing the tent down with me.

X-X-X-X-X-X

_If I keep my eyes closed, then maybe they'll go away._

"Open your eyes, Jasper. We aren't going anywhere," Esme said.

I opened one eye and when I saw thirty staring back at me I promptly shut my eye. All fifteen vampires and shape shifters stared down at me. "Don't you people have something better to do than to stare at me?"

"No, not really," Emmett said. "Like I said yesterday, the cable is out."

"You need to drink some more of the plasma, Jasper," Carlisle said. "She really knocked you out good this time."

I detected a smile in his voice, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that he as well as the rest of my freak show family were indeed smiling and laughing at me. I growled at them; no one laughs at the Major!

Esme slapped my arm. "Stop growling at us. If it happened to anyone else, you'd be laughing too."

I grunted as I sat up and held my head between my hands; it felt like it was about to roll off my shoulders. "Where is she?"

"She went for a run," Char said.

I jumped up. Which was the wrong thing to do because I swayed to the left and fell back on the sofa. "She's alone? You let her go off alone?" I yelled.

Peter stepped in front of Char. "Hold up there, partner. You can yell at your own mate, but don't you dare yell at mine!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry Char." I accepted the mug of warm plasma Carlisle handed to me, and took a sip of it. It didn't taste any better warm than it did cold, but I knew I needed it if I wanted to recover my strength. "Please, someone go find her."

"She's fine," Rose said. "Rachel and Emily are with her."

"Oh great, the two wolves that attacked her have run off into the woods with her…alone. That makes me feel _so_ much better." I grimaced at the taste of the plasma.

"What's going on, Jasper?" Carlisle asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno, ask those two." I pointed at Jane and Jake.

"Alice is what's going on," she said, handing me her phone.

"What's she done now?" I asked. I scrubbed my face with my hands before accepting the phone. Deep down I really didn't give a damn what Alice was up to. The need to go find my mate and grovel at her feet outweighed any evil Alice was currently cooking up.

Jane sat down beside me and peered over my shoulder in order to punch the necessary buttons on her phone. "My spies reported in this morning, stating that she broke into the castle in Volterra right before dawn. Half the Guard is dead, and she's holding Aro hostage."

I felt the panic of everyone around me, and even my own stress level shot up, except for Jane. She was strangely calm, but then, she was always calm in situations like this.

"_What_?" I asked.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Wh-what did you say?" he asked.

"She can't have enough reinforcements to take over the entire Guard!" Eleazar pointed out.

Jane looked up at us and shrugged. "See for yourself."

Alice and Edward stood shoulder-to-shoulder in what looked like the throne room of the castle and a grotesque looking male stood beside them holding Aro captive. Before them, what remained of the Guard was kneeling, face toward the floor in complete submission.

At first the video was grainy, and the picture bounced around a lot, almost as if whoever was shooting the scene was trying not to be detected. But then something happened, the angle of the video shifted, everything faded to black for two seconds and then volume and picture came through loud and clear.

"Who sent you?" Alice asked.

It was clear that Jane's spy had been found out and brought forth to stand in front of Alice.

No answer.

Alice stepped down off the throne and approached the spy.

"What is your name?"

No answer.

"Answer me!" she screamed. When the spy didn't answer her she turned to Edward. "What's he thinking?"

Edward hesitated for a second. "He's trying to keep me out of his head, but I keep seeing thoughts of Jane. He works for Jane."

"Jane?" The phone swung to the left and showed Alec standing up out of his bowed position. "Janey? My sister sent you? Is she well?"

"No one told you to get up!" Alice yelled, her angry red eyes nearly glowing.

"I need to know about my sister!" Alec yelled back.

Alice stepped forward and backhanded Alec. He stumbled back a step but then regained his balance. "You don't speak unless _I_ say you can speak!"

"She is well." The spy spoke up. He eyed Alice, took a deep breath and continued, "She is safe and alive away from here."

"Where is she?" Alice demanded.

"Don't tell her anything!" Alec yelled.

No answer.

"You tell me now, or I'll have Richard over there start a little party in your brain." Alice put her finger in the center of the spy's forehead and pushed his head back. "Tell me, do you want to die today?"

"She with the Cullen's," Edward said. "She and Renata have joined our former family."

The spy hung his head, obviously ashamed that he had allowed Edward to see his thoughts.

Alice grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Interesting."

"You fucking bitch!" Alec yelled. "You stay away from my sister!"

Alice turned her attention to Alec. "You think I'm a bitch now, just wait until I see little Jane. You think you two are the only ones who know how to torture someone? How 'bout I let you watch while we torture her?"

"Leave my sister alone," Alec said through clenched teeth.

Alice snapped her fingers and two massive sized vampires approached Alec.

"The Twins?" Peter said. "She recruited the Twins, holy shit!"

"Who are the _Twins_?" Rose asked.

"Two big bad motherfuckas apparently!" Emmett said.

"Shh, listen!" I said.

"Since this little video is being recorded for your sister, then I assume she is keeping tabs on us in order for the Cullen's to plan their next move. Put him in the holding cell," she instructed. "And turn the electricity up to maximum. But don't kill him!"

The Twins grabbed Alec, one on each side and hauled him kicking and screaming out of the room. Next, she turned to Richard and beckoned him to step forward.

"How are you feeling today, Richard?"

The monster face man shrugged. He had one bulging eye that he had no control over and it seemed to just hang out of the socket. "I'm a little bored." The golf ball eye swung to the left, then the right while his normal eye focused on Alice. "After all the fun we had killing vamps yesterday, I thought we were gonna fight today too." He sounded like a child who had just been told to come inside from playing with his friends. There was a gaping wound over the bulging eye that leaked a continuous stream of venom, which he mopped with a dirty rag. "'Sides, you promised me I could kill Whitlock."

Alice laid a hand on his arm. "Patience my dear man, patience. Jasper will be here soon enough." She turned back to the spy. "I'm sure you served Jane well. But now it's time for you to die. Richard, if you would do the honors."

He smiled, showing a mouth full of jagged, half broke off teeth. "Gladly."

Alice stepped in front of the camera phone and waved. "Hi Cullen's!" In the background, the spy fell to his knees, wailing and clutching his head in his hands as Richard laughed like a maniac. "I love this trick that Richie can do with your brains. He scrambles them, and it kinda like those God awful eggs you used to make for Bella when she was human, remember Jasper?" She laughed. "Oh watch, this is my favorite part."

The spy's face was literally melting off. As he screamed in agony, his legs began to shake, he jumped up and began stomping his feet as if they were on fire.

Alice narrated the scene before us, "Richie first starts the fire in his victims head and then he starts another fire in their feet. Kinda like burning the candle at both ends." Next, the center of his body caught fire and his chest exploded. "So as you can see, it ends with the heart catching fire, and _kaboom_! It's over!" She laughed again. "Did I tell ya, _I _own the palace now?"

"Alice," Edward said.

She rolled her eyes. "_We. We_ own the palace now. And I've got my own little army I'm gonna use to enforce my rules." Edward cleared his throat; Alice sighed and rolled her eyes again. "_Our_ rules. You've got seven days, Jasper. We're coming for you in seven days. And, guess who's gonna die first? Can I get a B-E-L-L-A? What does that spell? Bella!" She jumped around like a cheerleader. "That's right Jasper my love, Bella is going down first, and then we're gonna kill the rest of the family while we make you watch. Hey Richard, does that sound like fun?" She looked over her shoulder.

"Yay!" He clapped and jumped up and down. "Kill Bella, kill Bella!"

Alice saluted the camera. "See ya in seven days, Cullen's. Over and out!"

I was crushing the phone in my hand before I realized it, and only dropped the remaining pieces of it on the coffee table when Esme forced it out of my hand.

No one said anything and they were all looking to me to say something.

"What are we gonna do?" Rose asked.

I stood up. "Pack your bags."

"What?" Carlisle asked.

"This is our home, and I'm not letting them come here..."

"…we're going to them," Peter finished.

"Make the arrangements," I said to my Lieutenant, moving toward the door.

"Where are you going now?" Esme asked.

"To find my mate."

X-X-X-X-X-X

She was so beautiful, her pale skin in contrast to the purple blanket she was lying on over the partially snow covered ground. Even if she didn't have the diamond hard skin of our kind, I knew that Bella would sparkle anyway. It was her dazzling personality that would always shine through.

She rolled over, propping her head up on one arm and looked at me.

My body immediately responded to the sight of her naked body, coming alive as if a switch had been flipped. "You're beautiful."

"I'm not mad anymore," Bella said. "So you don't have to try to butter me up with pretty words."

"How 'bout I just butter you up?"

She smiled. "I don't think we have any left after the last time Em and Rose did that."

I nearly gagged at the mental image that evoked. "Well now, that's just gross."

She laughed and extended a hand to me. "Come, lay beside me and tell me what's on your mind."

"I'm sorry," I said. I felt the need to apologize even though Bella said she was alright. "I acted like an ass to you."

"I know, c'mere." She waved me over. "I've just gotta learn to let you're Alpha male not bother me when you get worked up and bent outta shape."

I stripped off my clothes and dropped down beside her on the blanket. "How did you know I had something on my mind?"

"You get this little wrinkle between your eyes when you've been worrying." She pressed a kiss between my eyes and I relaxed my facial muscles. "What is it? Alice?"

I nodded.

She laid her head on my chest, wrapped her arms around my waist and snuggled into me. "Tell me."

I kissed the top of her head and ran a hand up and down her back. Bella released a sigh and purred. My dick harden and jumped at the sound, but strangely, the need to talk to her, for her presence to comfort me, outweighed my need to physically connect myself to her.

"If I asked you to stay here, would you?" I continued running my hand up and down her back, drawing circles on her skin with the tips of my fingers.

"Not a chance in hell."

"This is going to be bloody."

"Then it's a damn good thing we don't bleed."

"Babe, I'm serious. Alice is wacked out crazy, and she's gunning for you."

Bella lifted her head and looked up at me. "Then it's also a good thing she knows what an ass whipping from me feels like. 'Cause that's exactly what she's gonna get."

"Bella-"

"Do not even start with your speech of how 'you don't to want to worry about me during battle' or 'it's safer for me to stay out of the fight'. Alice isn't gonna stop at just trying to kill me; she's gonna try to kill all of us. You are my family, and I belong beside _you_."

I framed her face between my hands and kissed her. "I love you."

"I know," she said with a cocky kick in her voice. She threw her leg over my hips and straddled me. "Now, you'd better get busy finishing what you started this morning, 'cause I'm guessin' we don't have a lot of time before we have to leave for Italy."

"How did you know—"

She grinned and then winked at me. "I'm the Major's wife, I know everything, remember?"

"Wife?"

"Oh, did I forget to ask?" she asked with a breathless sigh as I pushed up into her. He head fell back as I thrust upward, and the sun sparkled off her nipples. I sat up and took one into my mouth, rolling it over my tongue. "Jasper Whitlock, will you marry me?"

I released her nipple with a pop, and right before I took the other in my mouth, I answered her. "You betcha sweet tits I will."

Bella buried her face in the crook of my neck as I cupped her ass cheeks and guided her hips up and down over me.

"God, you're so romantic." She laughed.

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me."

"Uh…right…there…" she panted.

"Here?" I playfully asked, and flicked her sensitive bundle of nerves.

She threw her head back and screamed, right before she sunk her teeth into my neck.

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**A/N: I'm thinking one or two more chapters, including an epi and then maybe even a one shot. Leave me some love!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

**Please, please forgive me for taking so long to get this together. I've had the longest streak of writer's block ever, and real life has just been getting in the way. Not to mention I've starting doubting my writing skills.**

**Because I've taken so long to get this out, it's not beta'd. But, I want to thank my beta's Cullen818 and JamesRamsey for sticking by my story for so long. **

**SM owns it!**

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**BPOV**

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Jasper asked me.

"You've asked me that a thousand times already."

He cupped my face within his large hands and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. "I just don't want you to have any regrets."

I tugged on his wrist and brought his hands to my lips, kissing his knuckles. "How can I have regret when I'm marrying the man I love?"

"Yes, but what about the white dress, and the flowers and…"

"Just because I'm marrying you in fatigues and army gear doesn't mean that we're any less married." We both looked down at the matching black cargo pants and muscle shirts we were wearing. "'Sides, we can do the white dress and flowers another time."

He sighed. "But…"

"But what?" I asked, impatient to get this show on the road.

Jasper pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Maybe we should wait. I never imagined spending my wedding night blowing up a castle."

I kissed him softly and then stared deep into his eyes. "I don't wanna wait. Every time we're together I see fireworks and tonight will be no different, except all of Volterra will see them too."

"Hey guys, are we ready?" Peter asked, sticking his head around the bedroom door.

Jasper looked down at me one last time, eyebrow raised in a silent question.

I nodded. "Yep."

Char pushed passed her mate and pressed a bouquet of black roses and baby's breath in my hand. "Black roses?"

"They match your outfit," she explained, as if it were obvious.

"Here, bend down a sec," Rose said, coming in behind her. She whipped out a short black veil and promptly pinned it in my hair. "Emmett's ready when you guys are."

There was no doubt in my mind that I was ready to marry Jasper, but I was nervous about the fact that Em was officiating. Was it even possible for him to be serious enough for us to get through the vows?

"Don't worry, Em married Peter and I the last two times we tied the knot," Char said, obviously seeing the worried expression on my face.

"And you're sure it'll be legal?" I asked.

"Of course it is, I passed the ordination classes with flying colors," Emmett said, appearing in the room. He was dressed in a long black clergymen robe with a gold crucifix around his neck. "My dad was a preacher, and he taught me not to mess 'round with the Lawd's word." He held up his maroon leather Bible. "This was his Bible."

"How did you get his Bible?" Jane asked.

"I stole it from him," Em said, grinning.

We all looked at him, not missing the irony.

"You _stole_ a _Bible_?" Jake asked.

Rose sighed with a deep huff and rolled her eyes. "His parents died a few years after he was changed, and before the house and properties were split up among the relatives, we snuck into his old childhood home and took a few mementos."

Em held the book out to me, showing the names and dates of birth of the family members written on the inside page. "It belonged to my great grandfather. He was a preacher too."

"So, in a way, even though you don't have a congregation, you're carrying on the legacy," I said.

He smiled with his dimples showing, and his eyes took on a glassy, faraway look. It was probably the most serene I had ever seen him. "Yeah, I guess I am," he said softly.

Carlisle cleared his throat and tapped his watch. "The sun will be down in an hour, and we still have to feed and go over the plan again before we reach Volterra. Perhaps we should start?"

"Yeah, let's get this hick hoedown over with," Tanya said. "I'm bored."

Rose sent a low snarl her way, but otherwise we ignored her. Her bitterness was not going to ruin the most important moment in my long life.

An exchange of vows, two 'I do's' later and we were officially Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock.

X-X-X-X-X

"Jane, I want you, Jake, Renata and Rachel to cover the north entrance," Jasper said, running a finger over the area on the map he was referring to. We had taken over the dining room table of the villa we had rented and turned it into a war room.

Something about the way Jasper- my new husband- was commanding the room and issuing out orders was a major turn on for me, and I had to check my emotions before I started throwing out a truckload of lust toward him.

_Maybe we should have had at least one night together before we took over the vamp world! _I thought, as I watched him in action. Char reached over and snapped her fingers under my nose, snapping me out of the lust daze that had settled over my eyes when I saw my husband bend over to search through the duffel bag at his feet.

"Pay attention," Char whispered.

"Tanya, Kate and Irina, I want you guys to go over the wall and start at the south gate setting the explosives twenty feet apart all the way around the perimeter. Make sure to double up on 'em here at the north tower. When I give you the signal, I want you to set those off first, Esme, using this separate detonator." Jasper tossed her the small metal box.

She caught it easily. "Got it."

Jasper continued, "There are two entrances to the secret escape passage way; one in the north tower and one in the throne room. The one in the north tower is easier to access, as it's an actual underground hallway. Alice will no doubt think to run to that one first when she hears the explosions go off because the tunnel under the throne room is basically just a mole hole; it would be too difficult for even her to fit through. Tanya, after the explosives are set, you three join Emmett and Rose at the mouth of the north tunnel; it runs perpendicular to the escape tunnel and the walls are three feet thick." He pointed out each location on the map.

"So even though we're blowing up the escape tunnel, this other tunnel should remain intact?" Tanya asked.

"Affirmative," Jasper said. "Once you get inside, radio Esme and she'll blow up the mouth of the second tunnel, sealing you inside. Remember, the only way out will be through the front gates."

I growled and then slapped a hand over my mouth. If I were human, I know I would have been blushing beet red. The Major was making me horny in a major way.

Jasper looked over his shoulder and winked at me. "Carmen, I want you to go with Esme. If by some chance Alice does get through to the escape tunnel-

"Not gonna happen, that bitch is mine!" I said.

Jasper reached over and linked his fingers through mine. "Easy baby. You'll get your chance at her." He kissed my knuckles and turned back to the rest of the group. "Like I was sayin', I want you two" he pointed at Esme and Carmen "to be there to intercept her if she manages to escape. _Do not_ hesitate to kill her on the spot."

Jasper gave Esme a pointed look. He knew that if it came down to it, Esme was going to have to kill one of her adoptive children, or be killed. Alice would not hesitate to take one of us out, and Esme needed to recognize that fact and use it to carry out her duty.

Esme nodded and dropped her head.

"Don't worry, a mother always does what's necessary to protect her family," Carmen said, giving Esme a one arm hug for support.

"Where do you want us?" Carlisle asked, indicating himself and Eleazar.

"I want you two to go over the wall on the west side and find Aro and his brothers. Our mission is to not just take out Alice and Edward but to eventually establish a new vamp governing system. Even though Aro's way of doing things suck, when it comes down to it he's got the most knowledge about setting up a government. I think it's smart to at least give him a chance to do the right thing, but if we see that he and his brothers don't want to get on the change train, then we'll take them out too."

Carlisle nodded. "I'll convince him to change, and if I can't, then I should be the one to end him." In his long life Carlisle had seen war, human and vampire, too many times to count. We all knew his stance on violence, but this war was forcing all of us to make decisions and act in a way that was not normal for us.

Eleazar cracked his knuckles. "I've been wanting to get my hands on those three brothers for a while now."

"Just remember to give them the choice first," Jasper said.

Peter took up the instructions from there. "The Major and I are going to position ourselves at the main entrance, here on the east side. According to Jane, the majority of the Guard will assemble here as the first line of defense for the castle. Em, you lead your team up from the rear through the tunnel and we'll be fighting our way toward you. Our objective is to meet up in the throne room. Once Alice sees that she can't get out through the escape tunnel, she'll no doubt head there."

"What about Bells and me?" Char asked.

"You're with us," Jasper said, pulling me closer. "There's no one else in the world I'd want watching my back than my brother and our wives."

"The sun's down," Jake said, pulling the curtains close.

"Alright guys, let's pack up and move out. Em, double check the explosives and the weapons," Peter said. "Make sure the bullets are secure."

"Weapons?" Esme asked. "What kind of bullets will work on vampires?"

Emmett grinned. "We've got four Barrett M82 rifles and a shit load of high explosive Raufoss MK211 .50 caliber cartridges. Each cartridge has a cooper jacket with a steel/plastic tip that shoves the lead out the back of the bullet on impact, which greatly increases damage inside of the target."

"Of course it won't kill a vamp…" Jasper said.

"…but it will slow them down," Jake finished.

"And maybe blow a few important body parts off," Emmett said.

"If we've all got assigned duties, then who's on sniper detail?" Rose asked.

"We are," Quil said, coming into the room.

I squealed and threw myself into their outstretched arms. "How'd you get here? I thought Sam told you guys to get back to the Rez?" I asked after hugging both of them.

"What he really said was for us to stay out of the fight," Embry said with a grin. "This way, we're not actually fighting."

"I want you two posted outside the castle on the roof of this building; shoot anyone that either tries to come in or any that tries to escape," Jasper instructed. "Remember to aim for sensitive spots, eyes sockets, knee caps and the like."

Quil caught the rifle Emmett tossed him. "Got it."

"If we're ready, let's roll out," Peter said.

X-X-X-X-X

The moon was hidden behind clouds, and even though it was dark as ten midnights, my vampire eyes picked up on every detail of the dark woods we were running through. I jumped over fallen logs and ducked under low hanging tree branches with the ease of a gazelle.

We were about a mile from the gates of the castle when I was suddenly grabbed from behind. Of course, my first instinct was to fight, but then I realized that the person who had grabbed me was Jasper.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him.

He raised a hand, signaling to Peter and Char to keep going and pulled me behind a large tree. Before I could say another word his mouth was on mine and he was yanking down the zipper on my pants.

I pulled away, stunned. We were about to engage in the biggest battle of our lives, and he was trying to fuck me behind a tree? "Jasper-"

"Pull your shirt up, I wanna see your tits."

"You wanna do this now?" I asked, surprised. Even though I knew it was crazy for us to be doing this, I couldn't stop myself from complying with his request. He pushed down and pulled one leg of my pants off; the other hung onto my ankle.

He let out a strangled sound, and I thought his eyes would pop out of their sockets. "Holy shit, you're not wearin' a bra?"

I shrugged. On a good day I didn't like being inhibited by the damn thing, I certainly wasn't about to be fighting for my life while tugging on the straps to stay up.

"And, this is all your fault, with all that lust you were throwin' at me back at the house," he accused.

I didn't have a chance to respond; Jasper ducked his head down and took one of my nipples into his mouth, laving it with the flat of his tongue before gently biting down and pulling it with his teeth. The sensation went straight to pussy and my head fell back against the tree.

"Good God, I'm hard as a fuckin' rock," he murmured, while ripping my panties off and then tossed the scrap of lace aside.

I tugged his pants down and his cock jumped out, the head glistening in the night air. I licked my lips.

"Later, you can do that later." I felt his fingers probing between my legs; he cursed and then thrust two inside me. I whimpered when he withdrew them. "So wet…baby, wrap your legs around –"

I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist before he could even finish his sentence. His hands cupped both of my ass cheeks, and he held me up and away from his body, giving me room to maneuver him into position.

Jasper threw his head back, eyes shut and face screwed up in ecstasy. He was grunting through clenched teeth and venom spittle was running down his chin.

He was feral, and he was beautiful.

My husband made some sort of garbled sound, warned me to hang on, and then he rocked us both to heaven.

X-X-X-X-X

"Where have you two been?" Peter demanded. "We've been waiting on you!"

"We had some business to take care of," Jasper said, plucking the radio out of his friend's hand.

"We're about to have the fight of our lives, and you took the time to -"

The Major's head whipped around and he gave his best friend and Lieutenant a look that suggested he drop whatever it was he was about to say. "Yes, I took the time to reassure my mate that we would get out of this unscathed. Do you have a problem with that, Lieutenant?"

Peter took a step back, pulling Char behind him. Wisely, he dropped the subject and got back to the matter at hand. "Everyone is in position, Sir."

At some point in the time since I had known the Cullen's and Whitlock's we had all played around with calling Jasper, the_ Major. _We all knew of his reputation, and they had even recently fought alongside of him against Victoria. But I would be willing to bet that no one, not even Peter and Char, who had known him for more than a hundred years, had actually seen the _Major_ in action. He had more to lose now than ever before, and that made him twice as dangerous.

I could almost feel the air shift as my mate, my husband, the Major took over. The wind seemed to blow a little colder, and it swirled around us in angry gusts.

"Esme," Jasper said over the radio, "we're ready whenever you are."

"Copy that, I'm blowing the tunnel in five…four…three…two…"

The explosion was loud and the ground under our feet rumbled like an earthquake rolling toward the surface of the earth's crust. Long before we had even left the cabin in Canada I had mentioned my concerns about our full out attack on the castle drawing too much attention to who we really were. Jasper and Carlisle assured me that in this situation, the results would be worth the risk, and he knew vamps that knew people that could spin a believable cover story.

"Get ready," Jasper warned. "We're going in fast and hard."

"We're inside," Tanya's voice crackled over the radio. "Blow the second tunnel, Esme!"

We heard the second explosion, and Jasper pulled me toward him, kissed me quickly and whispered how much he loved me before turning back to the castle. The front gate of the castle opened and two members of the Guard peeked out, looking around.

"Char, Bella, stay behind us as we clear a path," Peter said.

"Let's do this," Jasper said, bumped knuckles with his brother and best friend and they took off running.

It was mass confusion inside the castle. The two explosions had rocked the foundation of the castle and filled the hallways with smoke and fire. Vamps were running everywhere and it was almost impossible to identify who was fighting on Alice and Edward's side, and who was just fighting to stay alive.

Char and I fought back-to-back while our mates did the same. In watching my new sister in action I realized I had a lot to learn about hand-to-hand combat. Some of my punches were sloppy and I didn't tighten and snap my wrist enough when I made contact with whoever it was I was pummeling at the moment.

"Bella!" Jasper roared, as he ripped the arms off a huge vampire. He tossed the arms aside like they were tree limbs and then twisted the vamps head off. "Quit playin' with that kid and get Alice!"

I screamed out a warning to Jasper just as he was attacked from behind. He easily took the vamp out and pointed toward the doorway with one of the vamps ripped off arms. "She's headed for the throne room!" He yelled, and turned back to help Peter fight off another vamp.

I had just ripped the head off a young male vampire when I felt myself being thrown through the air. I hit a stone wall and crumpled to the ground, momentarily stunned.

"I won't let you touch my mate!" Edward growled, advancing on me.

Char attacked him from behind, jumping on his back and clawing at his face. He easily tossed her off and then kicked her like a football. She landed in a heap beside me, moaning.

There was a rumbling sound, the walls shook and chunks of rock broke off and fell down around us. A male vampire avenging his mate was a scary sight. I looked up and saw Peter and Jasper charge Edward with a roar so loud that it actually hurt my ears, and within seconds he was ripped to shreds and set on fire.

Jasper picked me up, and steadied me on my feet when I wobbled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said.

Jasper unhooked the radio from his belt. "Status check. You first, Em."

The radio crackled and Emmett's voice came through. "The rear of the castle is secure. We've got seven vamps subdued and a buttload of dead back here."

"Three down out front," Quil said. "Embry's dismembering them now."

"We've got the brothers," Eleazar said. "And quite a few dead here on the west side."

"We're good out here," Carmen said. "Two down and currently cookin' on the barbie."

"Has anyone seen Alice?" Jasper asked. "Or Richard?"

"Or Tanya and Irina?" Rose asked.

We heard blood curdling screams and a rolling fireball came exploding up the hallway. Jasper knocked me down, covering my body with his. The fireball dissipated and Peter and Jasper had us up and were pulling us down the opposite hallway before the next one came.

"I think…I think that was Tanya and Irina," Emmett said.

"Alright Em, get yourself and the rest of the family out of the castle now!" Peter yelled into the radio.

"You two go find Alice," Jasper said to me and Char. "We'll find Richard."

I shook my head, refusing to go along with his plan. There was no way in the world I was going to let my mate go up against a monster like Richard. "You can't go after Richard, Jasper. He'll—"

"Listen to me," he shook me a little, "I'm gonna be okay. Peter and I have never lost a fight, remember?"

"We'll be okay. But you two have to stop Alice," Peter said.

"Jaaasssppperrr! Where are yyyoooouuu?" Richard sang out just as another fireball rolled pass the little alcove we were huddled in.

"This guy is crazy!" Char yelled at Peter. "I can't lose you!"

"The only people going down are Alice and Richard." Jasper pulled me to my feet. "Go now, find her and take her out. We'll meet you outside the castle in a few minutes."

"Jasper!"

"I love you, now GO!" He yelled and took off running.

Char grabbed my hand and squeezed. "They can't live without us, just like we can't live without them. They know what they're doing."

I took a deep breath to settle my nerves. I knew she was right. "Okay then, let's go find Alice."

The coronation chair had been thrown to the side and all we could see of Alice was her designer boots, waving in the air. Her entire munchkin body was inside the hole and she was digging for all she was worth, tossing dirt out behind her. She looked like a dog digging in someone's flowerbed.

Char and I looked at each other and grinned. My sister grabbed one of Alice's feet and I grabbed the other. She kicked out at us as we pulled her out of the hole.

"And where do you think you're going?" I asked.

"Fuck you, bitch!" She yelled, wiping dirt off of her face. She popped up off the floor,

She looked like a little wizened demon, covered in grit and mud, and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"We can do this the easy way…"

"…or the hard way," Char finished.

"Well how 'bout my way?" Malinda said, coming into the room.

"Damn, you're not dead yet?" Char asked, moving toward her.

"No, but you're about to be." There was a loud roar and then an explosion. "Just like your mates."

"We'll see about that," Char said, and attacked.

Fighting Alice was like swatting flies. Because she was so small, she could flip her body in a hundred different directions before my eyes could register on her. She would kick me from behind, laugh about it and then back flip away before I could recover my stance and go at her. I was losing the fight, badly.

Until she struck a nerve; she mentioned my mate.

"As soon as I kick your ass, I'ma go find my man and take him away from here. Jasper was always meant to be with me."

I picked myself up off the floor.

"Delusional as always."

"Jasper needs a strong mate, not some weak, sniveling newborn."

"Newsflash, Jasper doesn't want you," I said.

"He will, as soon as I get rid of you."

She jumped and tried to execute a scissor kick, but I caught her by the ankle, spun around in a circle and slammed her head into one of the stone walls. But the bitch popped right back up like some sort of sick, demented Jack-in-the-box.

I screamed in frustration and went after her with everything I had, punching, kicking and tearing at her. For a moment, I wished she were human, because I would have bathed in her blood if I could have.

"Bella!" Char yelled.

"_What_?" I roared back.

"It's done. It's over, she's in pieces."

I looked down; half of Alice's face was in my hands and the other half was across the room. I was crying, venom tears running down my cheeks.

She handed me a lighter. "Finish her, and let's go home."

**Epilogue**

**JPOV**

"Listen to this headline: '**Gas Leak Causes Explosion, Thirteenth Century Castle Now a Pile of Rubble**'", Bella read. "Carlisle and Eleazar sure know how to spin a story. It's been a week now, and their still running variations of that headline."

She tossed the newspaper aside and flopped down on the chaise lounge beside me, snuggling into my chest. I pushed her sunglasses up on her perfect little nose and kissed her. Bella sighed contentedly, as we listened to the waves crash up on the beach.

"So, what do you want to do today, Mrs. Whitlock?"

She stretched and wiggled herself around to straddle my waist. "Can't we do exactly what we did yesterday?"

I ran my hands up her thighs underneath her sundress. "I think you have on too many clothes for that." I lifted my hips, grinding up into her.

"Why Mr. Whitlock, is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

"Why don't you check it out and see for yourself."

She popped the button on my shorts and ran her hand inside, wrapping her fingers around me. "Definitely not a banana."

"Hey you two, hold up on the sexin' for just a minute," Emmett said.

I jumped up, nearly tossing Bella to the floor. "What the fuck, Emmett. How the hell did you get in here?"

"Whadda ya mean, how'd I get in here? I'm a vampire; I can go anywhere I want."

"We rented separate villas for a reason. Reason number one, to keep you out," Bella said.

Emmett draped an arm around Bella's shoulders. "Aww c'mon sis, why would you wanna keep me out?"

Bella pushed his arm away. "This is supposed to be my honeymoon."

"Look, don't be gettin' mad at me 'cause your 'ol man here is too cheap to take you on a real honeymoon."

"I am not—"

"The man's got George Washington in a choke hold."

"He's not the only one I'ma have in a choke hold," I threatened. "What do you want, Emmett?"

"Carlisle wants to have a family meeting over in his villa. The three brother's are ready to cooperate."

"I told you guys that I don't want any part of this new government. For the next hundred years it's just gonna be me and Bella."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya talkin'," Emmett said, making the talking mouth gesture with his hands. "You know we need you."

I wrapped my arms around my mate. "Bella needs me, that's all I'm concerned about."

"The family needs you," Emmett protested. "We need both of you."

I sighed and sat back down on the chaise. All I wanted was to spend the next couple of months lying on a beach somewhere between my mate's thighs. We were then going to check out colleges and Bella was going to finish her degree. She still wanted to major in Agriculture and Forestry, and even given our issues with sunlight, there were still plenty of career options within that field. We could live in Alaska, or Canada, or even somewhere in the mountains in Europe.

"What's Carlisle's plan?" Bella asked, sitting down beside me.

"Does that mean you're coming over?" Em asked excitedly. "The whole family's waiting on you, even Jane and Jake."

I looked at Bella. "What do you think?"

"They _are_ our family. Maybe we could compromise."

"I'm not compromising your happiness," I said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Babe, I've never had a family. Maybe we could stick around for a while. I know you don't want to be a part of the new government, but maybe you could be an advisor or something. Just for a few months. And, I can go back to college anytime."

"Advisor?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know, all rulers have advisors. You know how to lead people, and Carlisle and Eli are versed in vamp laws. It would just be long enough to give them a jump start on things."

"That sounds awesome, B! And, we can even go back to school with you," Emmett offered. "I never got to join a fraternity the first couple of times I was in school."

"We're not doing keg parties and panty raids, Em," I said.

"You're such a killjoy!"

"Tell Carlisle we'll see him in ninety days," I said, pulling Bella to her feet.

"Ninety days? The family meeting is in half an hour," Emmett said.

"Yeah, but we've got a plane to catch in two hours."

"A plane?" Bella asked.

I kissed my wife. "Yeah, we've got a real honeymoon to get to."

* * *

**A/N: I don't know what the future holds for my writing. Currently, I'm working on outlining 2 original stories and I have ideas for dozens more. The next fanfiction story I post will be complete before I post it, so stay tuned.**

**Thank you all so mcuh for standing by my story!**


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